Ones Tender Embrace
by SenSayuri
Summary: I..I can't stop thinking about him!" A distressed looking Uryuu Ishida thought, sighing in frustration. Sapphire eyes dared a look at the object of desire, only to find Topaz coloured ones staring right back. AU. Rated 'M' for later chapters! Review?
1. Uryuu's Distress

**One's Tender Embrace.**

Author: Chihiro

Warnings: Language, Violence.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach..Damn..

[A/N - This is an Alternate Universe ('AU'). It's based on Ichigo's and Uryuu's lives if they lived like we do: Just normal, modern day lives without Spiritual pressure, ghosts, Shinigami, Hollows, The Soul Society, Hueco Mundo ..etc. The story focuses on Uryuu and Ichigo's developing feelings for one and other and the painful confusion that accompanies it. The 'M' rating will come into play later in the story, but until then, i'll warn you at the top of every chapter of some things that might offend certain readers. Now enjoy my first ever yaoi fanfiction! Review it with some feedback on what I messed up or what I wrote that pleased you XD, so I know how to improve my writing for future fanfiction! Thank you!]

"Ishida…wake up…Ishida.. Oh c'mon! ISHIDA!"

Roused from a deep sleep, annoyance was etched deep on Uryuu Ishida's face as he lifted his head slowly from the wooden desk and turned to face his tormentor.

Ichigo Kurosaki stared down at Uryuu, his trademark scowl marring his brow.

"Kurosaki…I believe it's rude to shout…" Uryuu grumbled, still half asleep, his bespectacled eyes squinting up at Ichigo and his dark hair fanning out haphazardly across his face.

"You slept through the whole lesson, Ishida, it's taken me at least five minutes to wake you up..." Ichigo mumbled as he watched the smaller teen push his raven-coloured locks from obscuring his face and started collect his belongings from the desk. The larger teen huffed at Uryuu's non-committal attitude, shifting his weight from one foot to the other impatiently.

_'He looks like crap…looks like he hasn't slept for days.._' Ichigo thought curiously as he gazed down at Uryuu's put-out expression. Uryuu's shoulders where ridgid with obvious annoyance at his presence. Ichigo never understood why the other boy despised him so passionately.

Ichigo watched as Uryuu started to rise from his chair, wobbling a little from fatigue and letting out a weary sigh.

"You NEVER miss a lesson, let alone sleep through one.. What's up?"

Swinging his school bag over one shoulder, Uryuu exhaled loudly and turned to glare at the boy pestering him.

"That is none of your business Kurosaki, and even if I wanted to confide in someone, you are the last person I would ever consider!" With that, Uryuu gave Ichigo one last annoyed glance then swept from the room as fast as his legs would take him, leaving Ichigo with a record breaking scowl on his face and a hint of confusion in topaz irises.

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Shaking his head to clear it of sleep, Uryuu pushed his way through the crowded corridors and marched straight to the boy's toilets, leaning over the sink nearest the door and splashing his face with chilled water. He breathed slowly in and out for a few seconds, regaining his composure. He lifted his head to meet his reflection in the grimy mirror in front of him.

_'Gods… I look pathetic'_ he thought, grimacing slightly. Uryuu's features were exhausted; His sapphire coloured eyes had dark bags underneath them and he was somehow paler than usual, looking almost grey in complexion. The past few months had been the most stressful of his school years, the workloads and sleepless nights catching up with him.

Uryuu Ishida had just turned eighteen and was almost finished with his last year of high school. He held the infamous title of "smartest guy in the year" and had a reputation to uphold. Falling asleep in class was far from what others expected of him. If he didn't do something about his situation, his grades would surely start to slip. Cursing himself inwardly, he thought back to why he'd been getting a lack of sleep and shivered, repressing the thoughts he had denied and feared for so long now. He couldn't be..

_'Damn that fool!'_ His mind screamed, as he closed his eyes tightly and scrubbed a hand down his face in frustration.

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Bright sunlight temporarily blinded Ichigo as he walked casually out onto the rooftop floor of the school, where his group of friends usually met for lunch. He planned to let them know he couldn't make it to join them for lunch today.

After rubbing his eyes, he spotted a cheery looking Orihime sitting on the floor with her friend Tatsuki, who waved for Ichigo to come over and join them. Sitting down by Orihime, Ichigo slumped against the wall, declining when she offered him some of her home-made lunch.

"Ichigo-kun, are you okay? You seem as if something has bothered you.." Her eyebrows contracted in confusion as she pulled a lock of ginger hair away from her face; it having fluttered there in the slight breeze. Ichigo turned to gaze at the young woman, his brain working to think up a white-lie to placate her. She always held particular concern and care whenever she noticed something bothering him. Ichigo had never been able to figure out why.

"Yeah Ichigo, you look even more pissed than usual, come to think of it." Added Tatsuki after drinking from a juice box and narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him.

"It's nothing…. I'm fine, I'm just tired I guess" Ichigo hoped he'd sounded convincing, there was nothing worse than being caught out lying to Tatsuki. Orihime's confusion disappeared at once, trusting Ichigo's word and happily started conversing with Kiego, who had just sat on Orihime's other side to join them for lunch. Tatsuki held his gaze for a while, analyzing him, but then let it drop. He felt himself sigh internally and ran a hand nervously through his messy locks.

"ICHIGOOO!" screamed an over-dramatic Keigo, a stupid grin plastering his features as he addressed Ichigo excitedly. The orange-haired teen turned his famous scowl on Keigo, watching as the boy almost vibrated with excitement.

"A few of us are planning to head to the cinema tonight, You in? PLEASE say your in! Mizuiro pulled out on me!" Keigo had leaned over Orihime and gripped the front of Ichigo's shirt, shaking him frantically.

"For Gods sake Keigo! Ill go if you just shut the fuck up!" exclaimed Ichigo, exasperated, planting a hand in the middle of Keigo's face and pushing him away roughly. Keigo hit the rooftop with a muffled thud but bounced straight back up, grinning madly at Ichigo.

"Brilliant! Meet me, Orihime-chan, Tatsuki and Ishida at Karakura square at 8pm!". Kiego shouted happily. Ichigo nodded slowly, toying with his orange locks; a frustrated gesture. Then something dawned on him.

"Ishida? Why the hell is Ishida coming?"

Orihime turned to gaze at him; confusion lacing her features.

"Why not, Ichigo-kun? I managed to persuade Uryuu-kun to come along in craft club the other day.. He seemed reluctant.. but agreed eventually! He's always on his own and gets left out a lot, so I thought it was time he came out with us for once. Don't you agree Ichigo-kun?" Orihime's pretty eyes shone up at him, hopeful and kind.

Ichigo shuffled uncomfortably under her scrutiny. "Well.. As long as his over-inflated head doesn't ruin the night, then that's just fine with me I guess…." Ichigo grumbled. He rose from his slumped position against the wall, staring down at his friends.

"I'm going to head to the next class early so I guess I won't be eating with you guys today, I didn't revise for the test last night. See you all later."

Orihime cracked a pretty smile and waved at his retreating form.

"Okay Ichigo-kun, see you tonight!" she shouted.

"Bye Ichhii!" drawled Keigo.

"See you around" Mumbled Tatsuki.

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_'Pull yourself together!' _Uryuu screamed internally, gripping the basin of the sink, his knuckles turning white.

Uryuu Ishida led a relatively relaxed, but lonely life. He lived on his own in an apartment east of the school. Every day consisted of the same old routine; Wake up, go to school, come home, complete school work, make dinner then go to bed. He'd been accustomed to this lifestyle for the past few years.

He had never minded the secluded life he led, but lately that had started to change. He had never considered himself having any friends, only acquaintances. Lately, he had found himself thinking of one of those "acquaintances" more than he knew he should, craving a certain sort of company with said person. It confused him, brought the reality of his preferences into sharper detail and he wanted nothing more than for those feeling to disappear. His father already looked down on him for minor mistakes and misgivings as a child and had already disowned him, he didn't need the man discovering his preferences and dubbing him as deluded or tainted on top of everything else.

Uryuu combed a nimble hand through his hair, flattening his ruffled locks and willing the thoughts to disappear. He straightened up and took another deep, calming breath.

Just as he had deemed himself half-sane and straightened up, the subject of his wandering thoughts walked through the bathroom door, reflected in the mirror Uryuu was staring into.

Utter horror painted Uryuu's usually schooled features.

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Ichigo strode into the boys toilets, not noticing anyone else present until he heard a sharp intake of breath. Whipping his head to the source of the sound, his eyes met Uryuu's back, his posture ridged as he beheld the boy inclined over a basin. Ichigo's eyebrows shot into is hairline, and he cautiously approached the slumped form.

"Ishida..? Are you okay?" Ichigo prepared himself for the usual snappy retort, but nothing came. He crossed his muscular arms over his chest, observing Uryuu intently.

"…Uryuu…c'mon.. what's up? I know you hate me and all but... humour me a little.. " Uryuu stiffened at the use of his first name. He turned and met Ichigo's gaze for half a second, before shaking his head furiously and pushed off the basin, half running in the direction of the door.

Something hard stopped him in his tracks, the obstruction pressing against his chest. He looked down, and traced the length of an arm holding him back until his eyes met the worried face of Ichigo Kurosaki.

Goosebumps crawled over Uryuu's body at the sudden, unsuspected contact. His sapphire eyes locked with topaz ones, observing the unusual colour, feeling lost. One could drown in those enticing depths.

"Ishida.. What's wrong? You're really pissing me off now.. You look exhausted, something's bothering you, admit it..." Deeply clouded, blue eyes continued to stare at Ichigo, observing all of his features, expression blank.

Ichigo growled, his scowl deepening.

"For FUCKS sake Ishida!" Uryuu suddenly snapped out of his reverie, His expressionless face breaking into a scowl deep enough to match Ichigo's.

"Kurosaki! Get your arm away from me!" He roughly hit the arm away and stepped back from the taller teen.

"I don't want to be pestered by the likes of YOU!" finished Uryuu bitterly, looking up into Ichigo's face angrily. Ichigo watched when Uryuu walked around him and started in the direction of the door again. He sighed deeply and turned to watch Uryuu leave.

"Uryuu….." Uryuu froze at the use of his first name once again and dared to shoot Ichigo one more glance; His face was saddened, eyebrows contracted with worry and his posture slouched, hands deep in his pockets. Uryuu felt a sudden pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry.. Kurosaki." Uryuu murmured quietly.

Uryuu was gone in the blink of an eye, the door slamming back on its self with a creaky thud, Leaving Ichigo alone to ponder the boy's bizarre behaviour.


	2. Ichigo's Realization

**Ones Tender Embrace.**

Author: Chihiro.

Warnings: Language, Violence.

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach. I'm just borrowing the characters :] ill put them back, I swear.

As much as he tried, his efforts were futile. Sighing in frustration, Ichigo ceased trying to flatten his unruly orange spikes.

_'This will have to do…'_ He thought, gazing at himself in the body-length mirror and frowning slightly.

He hadn't gone to drastic lengths to "dress up" for the night. He wore grey, skinny jeans, faded slightly from the knee down, a black band t-shirt and a red zip-up hoody that hung undone off his broad shoulders, along with a pair of worn down black converse. After deeming himself moderately presentable and wondering why he suddenly cared so much, Ichigo made for his door, picking up his wallet off the bedside table as he went. Striding to the stairs he descended them taking two steps at a time, then pushed the door to the kitchen open and strode inside.

"Onii-chan! What would you like for dinner?" Piped up Yuzu, Ichigo's little sister, who was currently sat at the dining table completing home-work, it seemed. Ichigo gave her a warm smile and strode to where she was sat, ruffling her light brown hair affectionately.

"I won't be here for dinner, Yuzu, I'm going to the cinema with some friends. You should seriously stop working so hard… get Dad to make you and Karin dinner for once." Yuzu gave Ichigo a sceptical look, much to his surprise.

"Onii-chan, I'm pretty sure that if Dad cooked us dinner we'd get seriously ill.. Remember the soup he made us a few months ago?" Yuzu exclaimed, looking up at Ichigo expectantly. Cringing at the memory, Ichigo chuckled.

"Yeah.. I remember.." Yuzu gave Ichigo a small smile.

"I really don't mind the house work Onii-chan, it gives me something to do. Now go! You don't want to miss your friends!" Ruffling her hair one last time Ichigo strode out of the back door, mumbling his farewells before he closed it. Pushing his way out of his garden gate, he started down the street, his pace slowing as his thoughts caught up with him.

_'__Uryuu…'_

His mind wandered back to the incident earlier that day, still pondering the boy's distressed manner.

_'He wouldn't possibly turn up tonight.. Right? I mean he hates Keigo.. Not to mention me.. What the hell is up with him? And what the hell have I done to him for him to hate me so much? God he's so fucking stubborn. Wait.. Why am I even thinking about this? Why should his problems bother me?'_

Lost in deep thought, Ichigo let his legs carry him in the direction of the town centre, knowing the way off by heart. Walking across a street at a brisk pace, Ichigo stared blankly at the floor, drowning in his thoughts of Ishida and why he even cared to be concerned in the first place.

He snapped back to the present instantly when he collided with something solid, he tripped back slightly but caught himself, his eyes connecting with what.. Or lets say who, he had just bumped into.

Speak of the devil.

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Uryuu Ishida pushed himself off of the dusty pavement, standing up quickly and whipping around to find the cause of his fall. Ichigo Kurosaki stood rigid, his face one of utter shock.

"Fuck! Ishida! Shit I'm so sorry, I was in a world of my own, I didn't see you there.. Are you okay?"

Uryuu stared, wearing his best frown. But it faltered when Ichigo approached him and started to brush the dust off of his white shirt. Just as he was about to protest, Ichigo brought a digit to his mouth and sucked on it, then pressed the wet finger to a spot of dirt on Uryuu's shirt, and started trying to scrub the mark off. Uryuu Froze and his mind went into over-drive.

_'When he bumped into my back I'm sure I could feel every muscle in his goddamn chest…. And the way he sucked on his finger like that…. How could he be so tempti- WHAT!?'_

Uryuu chastised himself internally as a blush graced his cheeks and he thanked the Gods it was dark.

"Uh.. Um Kurosaki! It's o-okay I'll wash the shirt when I get h-home" Stuttered Uryuu, cursing himself at his weakness. He pushed Ichigo away lightly and straightened his glasses.

"Oh okay.. So, you came. I wasn't expecting you to come.." mumbled Ichigo, feeling guilty for the second time that day. Uryuu sighed and started finger combing his hair.

"Orihime was persistent… she wouldn't take no for an answer… Look Kurosaki I'm sorry about earlier today.. I had things on my mind." Uryuu finished, gazing blankly at a spot just above Ichigo's head. Startled by the apology, Ichigo merely nodded.

A few minutes past with the two staring off in different directions, the atmosphere awkward. This gave Ichigo time to observe Uryuu on the sly.

'_Uryuu has really gone all out for the night hasn't he?'_ thought Ichigo, observing his attire. Uryuu wore a white, tight fitting and now slightly dusty shirt, a pair of black, tight fitting skinny jeans accessorised with a white studded belt. His clothing only proved too extenuate Uryuu's lean figure. Along with a pair of brilliantly white, designer flat-top skate shoes.

"Kurosaki?…" Uryuu raised a manicured eyebrow, "What are y-" The remainder of Uryuu's words where drowned out by a long, drawn out scream.

Both boys whipped around, only to see Keigo pinned to the wall by an angry looking Tatsuki. Sighing in unison, they made their way over to the minor scuffle.

"What has the idiot done this time?" Drawled Uryuu, while Ichigo prized Tatsuki off Keigo, leaving him to slide to the floor in a heap.

"SHE ATTACTED ME! There's NO need to get jealous Tatsuki! There's enough of me for _everyone!_ Orihime gets me first though though, OBVIOUSLY!" Keigo finished, grinning up stupidly at Tatsuki with three missing teeth. Tatsuki growled, scowling down at Keigo, then turning to Ichigo and Uryuu.

"The idiot groped Orihime, he already pervs on her enough, that's taking it too far!" as if for emphasis, she smacked Keigo one last time over the head as he rose to his feet.

"Oh! Ichigo! Uryuu! You made it! I've bought us some snacks for the film!" Orihime shouted from across the street, exiting a store and carrying a rather large shopping bag. Ichigo winced at the strange products jutting from the stuffed plastic bag. Was that a carrot...?

"So are we all ready?" She exclaimed as she reached the gang. She strode confidently up too Ichigo and swung her arms around him, engulfing him in a warm embrace. Ichigo uncomfortably placed his hands around her small shoulders, a little colour flushing to his face at the feel of Orihime's bosom pressed into his body. It had to be illegal to have a chest that big...

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As the room faded to darkness, Uryuu sighed inwardly at the inconvenience of their seating. He had been forced to sit right next to Ichigo. Orihime had sat down first, at the end of the row, then Tatsuki had pushed passed Kiego to sit by Orihime before he could do so and then Ichigo had sat next to Keigo, leaving only one seat vacant. He shifted awkwardly, Ichigo's warm presence merely an inch away.

The film Orihime had chosen; "The knowing" played on the screen, but Uryuu paid no notice to the sci-fi whatsoever, his full attention drawn to the presence next to him.

Uryuu dared a look at Ichigo, who's attention seemed to be solely on the film. He observed the way Ichigo's abdominal muscles could be defined through his tight t-shirt.. and how prominent his collar bone was. His eyes traced Ichigo's neck and he found himself thinking what it would be like if he kissed the delicate skin of the boy's jaw-line. Next, his eyes found Ichigo's face. Ichigo had his head tilted toward Uryuu, Topaz irises gazing at him with intense curiosity.

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Gazing into clouded sapphire eyes, Ichigo could tell Uryuu had zoned out again.

"Umm, Earth to Ishida?" he whispered.

_'I never realised he had such a handsome face… especially now it's not hidden by his typically bored expression.'_ Thought Ichigo offhandedly.

He gave Uryuu a small smile, but it faded when Uryuu's expression changed from clouded to frightened. He resembled a deer caught in headlights. The smaller teen rose suddenly, descended the stairs quickly then strode from the room, not giving Ichigo a second glance.

De ja vu?

Ichigo released a frustrated grunt, glaring in the direction of the door.

_'I've just about had enough of this fucking crap'_ Thought Ichigo, balling his hands into fists. Quickly rising from the cushioned seat, Ichigo strode down the stairs and out of the exit. Arriving in the lobby, he feverishly scanned the room for Uryuu, finally spotting the slight figure sitting on a seat next to the glass panelled entrance. Dropping his gaze shrewdly to his feet, Ichigo strode briskly towards Uryuu. He stopped a few meters away, but when he averted his gaze his eyes met an empty chair and his ears picked up the obvious sound of a door swinging on it's hinges.

"For..fucks..SAKE!" Ichigo cursed angrily, pushing his way out of the entrance and heading in the direction he hoped Uryuu had gone in, following his gut instinct. As much as Uryuu obviously disliked him, Ichigo felt obligated to chase Uryuu. Felt obligated to bring a smile to the other teens face. He hated seeing people in such a mess.

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_'I need to get away from him.. The proximity was too much to handle.. I can't allow myself think those sort of things! I'm being weak!'_ Uryuu thought desperately, jogging away from the cinema complex and into the outer parts of town. Before long, the distressed teen found himself in an unfamiliar back-street of Karakura. He took in his grimy surroundings and barely suppressed a shiver.

Uryuu slowed his pace, assuming Ichigo would have either gone back to watching the movie or had lost him by now. Rubbing his temples with his forefingers, Uryuu let out an exasperated sigh. He came to a stop in the dimly lit alleyway, contemplating what to do next. Deciding it was best to head back home now and face the consequences in the morning.

"Oi! Kid.. G-got a light on y-ou?" Slurred an unknown voice from behind Uryuu, making him jump out of his skin with fright. Uryuu turned to face the man, observing his shaking posture and bloodshot eyes. He recoiled slightly, scrunching his nose at the dodgy character.

"Um.. No.. sorry." Stated Uryuu, slightly wary of the drunken, scruffy man. He ALMOST pitied the man. Almost. Uryuu turned and started to walk away, but was stopped instantly when he felt a sharp, painful tug at the back of his head.

"Your f-fucking kidding me, you fucking dirty l-lier.." grumbled the man, his fist tugging at a large patch of Uryuu's hair.

Wincing, Uryuu reached back and ripped the hand from his hair, turning once again to face the abusive drunk. Uryuu had just opened his mouth to argue with the man, when an unsuspected fist made contact with his cheek, pain ripping through the left side of his face.

Uryuu stumbled backward, but corrected his footing before he fell. He stared wide-eyed at the delusional man, his features the picture of shock as he brought his hand up to cup his cheek. What WAS this man's problem?

The man ran at Uryuu, but this time he was prepared for the oncoming assault. The man swung blindly at Uryuu, stumbling and cursing as he went. Uryuu easily avoided the fists, throwing one of his own punches at the man, hitting him squarely in the nose and was rewarded with a satisfying crunching sound and a thick rivulet of blood cascading down the man's face and neck. The drug-induced delinquent felt his face in horror, painting his grubby hands a dark red.

Howling in anger, the man stumbled slightly and started fumbling around his clothes. He eventually removed a small Swiss-army knife from his coat. He grinned at Uryuu menacingly, the blood from his nose leaking onto his teeth.. making him look feral and monstrous.

"You'll re-regret that you l-little SHIT!"

"WHAT? Are you crazy! Don't be idiotic!" Screamed Uryuu, backing away as fast as he could from the psychotic man. The man ran at Uryuu once more and before he could turn to run, the blade made contact with his chest, catching his flesh and slicing diagonally all the way down to his hipbone.

Uryuu stared down in utter shock, watching the dark patch of crimson spread across his chest, contrasting with the crisp whiteness of his shirt. He let out a strangled scream and pressed his hands to the wound to try to stem the bleeding. Determined to leave the confines of the alleyway, Uryuu started to slowly walk backwards, his hands cradling his stomach, his frame trembling.

The deranged man laughed wildly in amusment, staring at Uryuu with a strange glint within his dark eyes.

"No.. please" Uryuu murmured desperately as the man made for him again, the knife posed high.

Unexpectedly, the man let out a strangled scream and fell forwards onto the ground with a sickening thud. A large, converse clad foot stepped on the back of his head, grinding his face into the floor.

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Ichigo rubbed his fist, having thrown the hardest punch of his life into the back of the drunken bastard's thick skull. He ground his foot into the back of the man's head, trying his best to shatter his already broken nose. He then stepped off the man and picked him up by the collar. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the drunk, he threw him with all his might into the near-by alley wall, knocking him out cold.

He had rounded a corner not five minutes ago to see two men brawling, he had assumed it was minor and decided to let the two solve their differences. But as he was going to walk down a side street, he had heard a very familiar voice, screaming; "WHAT? Are you crazy! Don't be idiotic!" Ichigo had stared on in shock when the man slashed Uryuu, lighting a roaring, angry fire within his chest.

After kicking the man one last time harshly in the ribs, Ichigo hurried over to Uryuu and supported his still standing but slumped figure by grabbing his shoulders tightly. Ichigo's eyes widened as he observed the damage, the crimson blood had seeped over Uryuu's hands and trousers, creating glistening red patterns all over his dangerously shaking body.

"Oh shit Ishida… I need to get you to the hospital!" Whimpered Ichigo, feeling immensely guilty.

_'If I had just gotten here a few minutes earlier..'_ he though desperately.

"Kuro-Kurosaki" stuttered Uryuu quietly, wincing in pain.

"Okay! Okay c'mon lets go" said Ichigo a little louder than necessary, his voice an octave higher than usual with panic. Ichigo walked to Uryuu's side, and placed his forearm at the back of Uryuu's knees, carefully taking them out from underneath him and wrapping his other arm around the smaller teens back. He brought Uryuu close to his chest, cradling him and letting his head fall to lean on Ichigo's shoulder. When he guessed that Uryuu was comfortable enough he set of at a run, leaving the now semi-conscious drunk on the floor of the dark alleyway.

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Ichigo came to a halt at his front door, his panic having risen tenfold when Uryuu had passed out half way here, his head lolling against Ichigo's throat. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he shifted from one foot to the other nervously.

He had opted to come to his father's clinic as it was the closest place too the incident. He kicked the door roughly a few times, a substitute for knocking with his hands full. A few seconds later one of Ichigo's younger sisters, Karin, opened the door with a scowl identical to Ichigo's trademark one gracing her face. The scowl faded when her gaze fell upon the bleeding and unconscious man in Ichigo's arms.

"Oh! I'll go get dad!" she exclaimed, running back up the hall as fast as her small legs allowed her, screaming for her father all the while.

Ichigo rushed though the front door and straight to the one medical rooms and carefully placed Uryuu on to the sterilised examination bed. Deciding he should start to clean the wound, Ichigo quickly undone the buttons on Uryuu's shirt.

Pushing the material apart, Ichigo felt the need to swallow when he gazed down at Uryuu's lean chest and abs, feeling immense guilt when he peered at the wound, but wondered why the mere sight of Uryuu's naked flesh caused surge of butterflies to erupt within his stomach.

Ichigo shook his head furiously as his father ran through the door, clearing his himself of the insane feeling.

_[A/N – Yeah guys, I know this story has no solid plot! Haha. The knife scene was merely a way I could write about our Ichi rescuing Uryuu! This isn't a serious fiction, it's rather experimental so I'm sorry for the OTT-ness of it all XD]_


	3. Uryuu's fantasies

**Ones Tender Embrace.**

Author: Jemma-Louise

Warnings: Language (of course.)

Sexual Themes (oooooh ho!)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not and never will own Bleach.

_[I would like to apologise for how slowly I'm adding chapters, I always find myself forgetting that I haven't submitted. I hope everyone's enjoying my first ever fan fiction! It's a kind of experimental fic to test my abilities.]_

_Satin, black bangs stuck to smooth, porcelain skin as sapphire eyes hungrily devoured the sight before them. Hands acted of their own accord, burying themselves within the surprisingly soft, unruly orange locks. Uryuu Ishida watched in fascination as the head bobbed up and down in between his naked thighs._

"_Nnnggh…O-ohh.. Ichi-go!" Moaned Uryuu, throwing his head back and squeezing his eyes closed._

_Uryuu sat perched on something soft, unable to decipher what it was in his current state. His surroundings were blurred and misty, but his coherent senses perked up enough to realise he was outside somewhere.. but somehow this didn't bother him in the slightest.. _

_A mischievous hand joined the hot, wet mouth at work and began to stroke Uryuu's hard appendage briskly. Uryuu splayed his legs further, allowing the body between them more space as his breathing stuttered at the attention. The hand stroking Uryuu's length left, only to travel down to caress his sensitive inner thigh._

_Without any warning the delicious mouth swallowed him whole, his erection disappearing until only the base surrounded in coarse black hair was visible._

"_Nn- Aahh!… Oh.. Ichi-go.. I c-can't!" The raven-haired teen ground out, on the edge of ecstasy. _

_Pleasure coiled in the pit of Uryuu's stomach and his vision blurred. His climax inched closer and closer with every second of delicious torture. Just as orgasm tore through Uryuu's sweat slicked body, the scene around him began to disintegrate. He looked down into the smiling butter-brown eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki as the dream shattered and his wandering mind was dragged into cold consciousness._

Uryuu's eyes snapped open, only to be clenched shut again when pierced by bright sunshine. He groggily rubbed his eye's with his fists, contemplating whether to go back to sleep. But his musings were cut short when he shifted slightly, wincing not only from a sharp pain that had shot through his abdomen, but from a mysterious patch of sticky-wetness residing around his crotch area.

"What? Ugh…great.. Another one of _those_ dreams.." Murmured Uryuu with a hint of disgust in his voice. He Shifted to get out of the somehow unfamiliar bed. Then halted the motion and for the first time took in his surroundings.

"Where.. What the… Where am I…" stated Uryuu out loud to the unfamiliar bedroom.

As if on Q, the door to the mysterious bedroom banged open, revealing a shorts and vest clad, orange haired teen; Ichigo.

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Ichigo gazed into his bedroom and was surprised him too see Uryuu awake, expecting to have to wake the injured boy up. He supported a tray of hot food in his one hand and a first aid bag in the other. Kicking the door closed Ichigo headed over to the disgruntled Uryuu, settling the breakfast tray on his bedside table and sitting down cross legged on the floor, facing Uryuu. He observed the pale teen's face, noting that he looked considerably anxious and slightly queasy.

"K-kurosaki.. Why-" Ichigo cut of Uryuu's words by raising his hand. Instead of letting the hand fall back into place, Ichigo reached over and placed it on Uryuu's forehead, measuring his temperature.

"You have a fever, before I explain to you what the hell happened last night, I want you to take these." Ichigo ruffled through the first aid bag, then pulled out two pills from a container and grabbed a glass of water off of the breakfast tray. Uryuu took the pills and water from Ichigo, eyeing them suspiciously for a moment, then looking as if coming to the conclusion that Ichigo didn't hate him enough to poison him, so knocked back the two pills at once.

"Right.. Well.. Last night.. Last night was pretty fucked up, to say the least" Grumbled Ichigo, rubbing the back of his head slowly.

"You remember that you where attacked, right? Slashed by some deranged, drunk, homeless guy. I brought you back here and my father cleaned you up and stitched the wound, It wasn't _that deep_ of a cut so I don't think it's gonna scar that much. Well after that we needed to put you to into a bed, we couldn't keep you on an examination bed.. So we put you in here for the night.. I slept down on the couch." Finished Ichigo, reaching to take the glass of water from Uryuu's slack hand.

Uryuu thought over Ichigo's words, bringing the memories from last night tumbling upon his aching mind. He shifted onto his side and felt the forgotten stickiness between his legs. Blushing slightly and cursing himself inwardly, Uryuu drew the blankets closer to his chin.

"Yes.. Yes Kurosaki I remember.. And I thank you for your help… It appears your not quite the idiot I thought you to be after all." Uryuu allowed himself a small smirk, but cut across Ichigo as he opened his mouth to retaliate.

"Uh, Is it ok with you if I use your shower….?" Mumbled Uryuu, dropping his gaze and fidgeting with the hem of the blanket. He looked up to see Ichigo looking lost at the sudden change of subject.

"What? Oh, um.. yeah.. That's fine, but you need to be careful with your wound, it's best not to touch it at all.. The stitching may get damaged." Ichigo warned.

Uryuu huffed in obvious annoyance.

"I know! Kurosaki my brain has a permanent residence up there, unlike yours that appears to occasionally go out for a stroll and doesn't return for a length of time" He allowed himself another smirk at the witty comment. When was it he had started humouring Ichigo again? Over the past few months he had only but frowned at the other boy.

Ichigo growled and Uryuu found himself enjoying the sound rip from Ichigo's throat...

"Tch.. Whatever.. Prissy bastard. The bathroom is across the landing, first door on your left." Glancing to his right, Ichigo's eye's fell upon the forgotten breakfast. "Oh.. Do you want something to eat?" he asked, pointing at the assortment of food.

"No, it's okay.. I don't feel that I could stomach it" The thought of food made his stomach churn, and he held back the urge to gag.

"Ok. You going in the shower or what?" Ichigo asked gruffly, concentrating on consuming his newly obtained bowl of warm porridge.

"Uh, I need some privacy Kurosaki.."

'_How am I to get myself out of this 'sticky' situation…?'_Thought Uryuu. **[pun intended!]**

"What the fuck, why? Your only half naked, nothing I haven't seen before in gym!" Grumbled Ichigo.

Weighing his chances, Uryuu decided it was too suspicious to demand Ichigo to leave his own room. So he grabbed the sheet he was wrapped in, tugging it with him when he rose to leave the room.

Ichigo rolled his eyes but said no more and started shovelling more porridge into his mouth. "'owels 'anging-" Said Ichigo thickly, his mouth filled with food. He swallowed and started again

"Towels are hanging on the back of the bathroom door…"

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Ichigo laid back horizontally across his bed, apparently studying his bland ceiling. A piece of toast hung from his mouth quite comically and his hands where slowly combing his through his orange locks. He reluctantly remembered last night, when his eyes had fell upon Uryuu's lean body. His mind started to wander when his Father had pushed him aside to begin to treat Uryuu and he imagined tracing the bumps of the smaller teen's abdominal muscles with a calloused forefinger, speculating how Uryuu would react if he did and what it could lead to next. His Dad requesting Ichigo find some painkillers for the third time snapped him out of his musings and he'd cursed himself inwardly for the laps of concentration and the fact he could of made Uryuu suffer more than necessary.

'_Why is it I'm suddenly feeling fucked up thing's about Uryuu..?' _Thought Ichigo, scowling in confusion. Putting it down to his undying need to protect those close to him, Ichigo concluded he now saw Uryuu as a very close friend.. A friend he found himself staring at for longer than necessary.. A friend he found himself wanting to touch.. To feel the soft pale skin under his finger tips…

Ichigo grumbled loudly, tugging at his hair in frustration. Pushing all of these troublesome thoughts to the back of his mind, he pulled himself up into a sitting position and quickly ate the now cold piece of toast.

Standing up and pacing his room, Ichigo suddenly remembered how Uryuu had acted before the attack and made a mental note to ask him sometime what had caused such a reaction.

Ichigo guessed Uryuu needed fresh clothes for the day and got too work hunting down a set of clothes small enough to fit Uryuu's lithe figure.

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Lukewarm water cascaded down Uryuu's lean body, making it glisten beautifully with the sun light that poured through the small bathroom window. His head tilted back slightly to allow the water to run over his hair and he started to massage the fruity smelling conditioner out with nimble fingers. Rinsing the last of the lather out of his shiny bangs, Uryuu started scanning the bath tub for some shower gel. Finding it perched on the window-sill, Uryuu proceeded to reach for it.

A sharp knock on the door echoed throughout the bathroom and Uryuu eyed the door suspiciously, withdrawing the top half of his body from reaching for the shower gel and drawing the shower curtain right along the length of the bath.

"Yes..?" Shouted Uryuu over the torrent of water. When no one answered him, he reluctantly pulled the shower curtain back and stepped out of the shower, proceeding to reach for a towel and answer the door.

The door opened with a loud creek, a long time before Uryuu had even reached the towels slung on a hook on the back of it.

Ichigo sauntered into the steamy bathroom wearing his usual scowl and baring a small pile of clothing. The scowl soon disappeared, only to be replaced with a look of utter shock, his jaw dropping open and his eyes widening uncharacteristically.

Uryuu stared at the teen in horror. He had frozen with one hand still proceeding to grab a towel, naked in all of his glory.

_[A/N - OOOOH! Cliff Hanger! Kinda… lol. REVIEW! I shall get the 4th chapter up by next week!]_


	4. Ichigo's Confusion

**Ones Tender Embrace**

Author: Chihiro Yuki at your service!

Warnings: Language (rolls eyes), Some fluffiness :] and alcohol consumption!

Disclaimer: I dooon't own bleach, Dear Tite Kubo does and I'm very jealous of that fact_._

_[A/N- Ohh my, the 4th chapter! I'm actually getting somewhere! I hope to make this story relatively long. Oh and italics on their own (when I use apostrophes, it indicates thoughts) indicate I'm showing you an extract from the past. Just to clarify, I'm not brilliant with Japanese culture, so I've decided it's best to stick with what I know and put my characters within a more western society, but with mixed Japanese hints, such as the honorifics.]_

It felt like hours to Ichigo, that the two boys stood gawking at one and other in utter shock. Ichigo's mind had suddenly caught up with him and he was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Uh-I mean-um….uh.. I brought you some...some new clothes….. Sorry… I.. I mean… I thought…you.." Ichigo stumbled over his words, a blush rising to grace his neck. The words took a few seconds to sink in then Uryuu bristled, a blush rising to match Ichigo's own.

"Kurosaki! What are you waiting for? Would you give me so privacy!" Shouted Uryuu while reaching for the discarded sheet from earlier and wrapping it quickly around his thin waist.

"Uh.. Yes! Yeah sorry.." Willing himself to find use of his legs, Ichigo tore his gaze away from Uryuu and dropped the clothes to the bathroom floor. He ripped open the door, slamming it behind him and running over the landing. Coming to a skidding halt at his bedroom door, anger quickly replaced embarrassment and Ichigo aimed a clumsy kick at his door, only to end up kicking the door frame and resulting in him letting out a loud, pained grunt and reaching down to hold his throbbing toe.

"Nnnnnhh… FOR FUCKS SAKE!"

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Crisp autumn wind whipped back Uryuu's black satin bangs, as he stepped over the threshold and out into the early afternoon light. He strode forward a few steps, before turning and waiting for his forced escort home. He turned his sapphire orbs on the orange-haired figure locking his front door and let them roll when he remembered their earlier argument.

Ichigo had been quiet since their rather awkward situation and had avoided Uryuu's gaze as if his life depended on it. When Uryuu had changed and collected the few of his possessions, turning only to recieve a wad of dressing from Ichigo. He was instructed to wear the dressing over the scar to cover the wound from the elements. He had given Ichigo his thanks and declared his leaving when Ichigo demanded that he be walked home.

_" No, wait.. I'll walk you back to your apartment" grunted Ichigo, shifting from his slouched sitting position on the bed._

"_I'm perfectly capable of walking myself home Kurosaki" Uryuu mumbled, gazing at his feet._

" _No, it's the least I can do. Look at the mess you got yourself into last time you tried walking back to your place alone."_

"_It's the middle of the day! And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think knife crime is a regular occurrence around these parts, I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm always alone anyway, today doesn't have to be an exception."_

"_I don't care, I'm walking you home, fucking deal with it Ishida. As soon as I know you are in your apartment then I'll fuck off. For future reference, don't go walking down any dingy looking alleyways."_

_Uryuu allowed himself to smile slightly, letting his gaze settle on the top of Ichigo's bowed head. Ichigo cared._

"_Fine! But hurry, I have a life I'll have you know..." ]]_

Uryuu observed as Ichigo pocketed his front door keys and strode over to him, his chocolate orbs still failing to make contact with Uryuu's ocean-blue ones. Simultaneously, both teens turned and started in the same direction, their strides even. Uryuu bowed his head against the cold wind and buried his hands in the front pocket of the black hoody he had borrowed. His gaze dropped down to the jeans he'd also lent and he grimaced slightly in distaste. They were much too baggy and he disliked the multiple 'designer' tears.

The weather had gotten colder today, a harsh reminder that summer had ended and autumn was slowly stripping the landscape of its warmth. I reluctant shiver travelled throughout Uryuu's lithe frame as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You cold?" Ichigo mumbled, giving Uryuu a quick side long glance.

Uryuu looked to his until now silent counterpart and shook his head slightly.

"I'm fine" Uryuu lied, stifling another shiver.

Ichigo snorted loudly. "Always the stubborn one."

Uryuu watched as Ichigo pulled off his red zip-up hoody and dropped it around Uryuu's shoulders. Shivering himself, Ichigo then proceeded to roll down the arms of the long sleeved t-shirt he'd adorned.

"No, It's ok.. Really.." Uryuu mumbled, shrugging the hoody off one shoulder, his eyes downcast at the kind gesture.

Ichigo grasped the slipping material and yanked it back onto Uryuu's shoulder, then glanced at Uryuu's face for the first time since their earlier predicament. His eyes seemed to have a pained, confused look about them. He knew those eyes; he saw them every time he looked at his own reflection the past few months. He gazed into the pained expression he had come to know so well and understood Ichigo must be facing problems of his own. He hadn't realised they had come to a stop until Ichigo started to walk again, dropping Uryuu's gaze.

He had to jog slightly to catch up with Ichigo's fast strides. When he was at an even pace with the orange haired teen, he placed a tentative hand on Ichigo's upper arm, making his gaze snap back to Uryuu's face.

"Thanks.. I guess." Uryuu murmured quietly, his brows drawn together in confusion.

Ichigo declined his head slightly; a subtle acknowledgement of the thanks.

Uryuu reluctantly removed his hand and both teens fell into silence. Now and then Uryuu caught Ichigo stealing glances him. The teen seemed to be pondering deeply, wallowing in his apparent confusion.

Karakura pasted by in a blur as the two boys only but subtly acknowledged each other, and before long they turned down Uryuu's street.

"Well, here we are. Thanks... for walking me home." Uryuu said, stopping outside of a slightly scruffy-looking apartment block.

To his immence surprise, Ichigo suddenly stumbled forward and wrapped his toned arms around Uryuu's shoulders and crushed the lithe frame to his chest in a tight but controlled grip.

Uryuu's body fell flush with the body holding him, his head tucked tightly under Ichigo's chin; Ichigo had quite a few inches on Uryuu's height. Ichigo's scent invaded his senses and he found himself inhaling deeply to lock the heavenly smell within his memory. It left him dizzy and longing for more. He subconsciously lifted his arms and tucked them around Ichigo's waist, feeling dazed.

Ichigo backed up slightly and observed Uryuu; His eyes where the forefront of a raging battle of conflicting emotions and Uryuu yet again could identify with the look. Uryuu's gaze flicked to a passing pedestrian who was rudely gawking at them, which brought him crashing back to his senses. He blushed at the comprising position Ichigo had put them into.

'_What is this?.. What's got into Ichigo?'_ Uryuu thought, confusion lacing his features.

He reluctantly pushed Ichigo away softly by the waist and stepped out of the warm embrace.

"Kurosa-"

"No, Look I'm sorry… I don't know what's gotten into me. I.. uh…" Ichigo hesitated, his expression torn. He dropped his gaze to the floor and scuffed his trainer on the ground impatiently, obviously frustrated with his inability to give the raven a proper explanation.

"I have to get going. See you Ishida." and with that, he turned and strode back in the other direction, leaving Uryuu with a question at the tip of his tongue and an utterly bewildered expression.

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Two weeks later, Uryuu had been trying to read a book while lying comfortably on his double bed when his house phone began to ring. Uryuu strode out of his small bedroom, into an equally small, but cosy living room, to answer the persistently ringing landline.

He had spent most of the day lying down in his bedroom, thinking about his encounter with Ichigo a couple of weeks prior and pondering his now undeniable feelings toward the orange-haired teen... and if it was right to even feel in such a way for another man. Ichigo had all but avoided him lately, only sharing a muted concern for his healing injuring every now and then. The awkwardness had all but melted, leaving a weary sort of acceptance between the two that Uryuu found difficult to grasp.

He snatched the phone off it's cradle and answered the call in a courteous voice.

"Yes? Uryuu Ishida speaking."

"Ishida-kun" said a low voice in reply.

"Ah, Sado-kun, what was it you called for?"

"I just called to tell you there's a firework display in western Karakura community park at 10pm tonight. I think most of the pupils from our school will be there, including Orihime and Ichigo. Some of the Uni students are coming along too. Are you in?"

"Well.. Sado-kun this is a little short notice.."

"You've missed the display every year, don't miss it again for the sakes of homework or domestic tasks. It will be fun."

Sighing into the line, Uryuu dropped his excuses and reluctantly gave in in the wake of Chad's calming, persuasive demeanour.

"Fine. I'll go, where should I meet you and what time?"

"Good. Well Ichigo told me he would come and pick you up on his way to the park, he said he'd be around about quarter to ten if you agreed to go. He seems to be worried about you since the last time you both went out. I hope your ok now, Ishida-kun."

"You know about that?"

"Yes, Ichigo told me. He said he kept it from the others though, told them you left because you were sick. He didn't want to make Orihime have a panic attack over you."

"Right.. Ok. Thanks I'm fine. Well I guess I'll see you later this evening then Sado-kun."

"Yes, see you later."

"Goodbye."

Uryuu placed the house phone back on its cradle and looked at the clock on his living room wall. It read quarter too nine.

"Great, only an hour to get ready before Ichigo get's here.." Uryuu murmured absent-mindedly, already mentally dressing himself for the night out.

xxxxxxxxxx

Five minutes had already past and Ichigo still stood, staring at the dingy apartment block, unwilling to contact Uryuu through the small receiver on the wall to tell him he had arrived. His mind had waged war on its self for the past couple of weeks and he'd finally come to the conclusion that it wasn't healthy to avoid the situation completely. That's what had drove him to ask Uryuu to the park tonight, as well as the ghost of Orihime's words; _"He's always on his own and gets left out a lot, so I thought it was time he came out with us for once. Don't you agree Ichigo-kun?"_

He'd never been so confused in his entire life. Did he _like _Uryuu? For that matter, was it _right _to like him _that way_? When had he started feeling like this? Did Uryuu share his feelings? If so, is this why Uryuu had been acting so cold lately? More cold than usual, that is. All of these questions had raced through his head and hammered at his aching and confused mind.

'_This is stupid.. What am I doing? I can't stand here forever..' _Ichigo thought, snapping out of his reverie and pressing the button on the receiver for Uryuu's apartment.

"Yes, hello Kurosaki, I'll be down in a minute.

"Oh.. ok."

The phone was put down and a minute or so later the front door to the apartment block swung open, admitting the pale teen into the cold night.

"So you insisted on walking me down the road? Now who's the stubborn one, Kurosaki."

"Hn.." murmured Ichigo, gazing intently at the lithe figure before him.

'_Uryuu looks... good.." _Ichigo though, sighing begrudgingly.

Uryuu wore a black tailored coat with a white scarf, along with a pair of tight-fitting dark grey jeans and a pair of neat grey chucks. He also noticed Uryuu still wore the red hoody Ichigo had borrowed him earlier under the jacket for extra warmth.

His attire consisted of his usual "just chuck it on" attitude. He wore a grey designer zip-up jacket, worn open, the straps of a black rucksack curling around each shoulder. A plain black polo-shirt, accessorized with a few random dog tag necklaces. Then a pair of worn down blue jeans held up with two belts; one black and studded, the other red. Finally, he had the same old black converse on his large feet.

"So.. Shall go?" said Uryuu, wandering over to the daydreaming Ichigo and stopping to obscure his line of sight.

"What? Oh yeah. Yeah c'mon."

The two set off down the road, tension coiling between them in anticipation of the night ahead.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Music blared and fireworks thundered through the sky, lighting it a drastic shock of pink for a few seconds, before dwindling into a flurry of embers. The whole park thrummed with people from all over who'd come to see the display. Ichigo and Uryuu stood within a large crowd of students, some who where gazing at the large display with awe, and others who where chattering excitedly to their friends.

Dropping his gaze from the fireworks, Uryuu spotted Rukia and Renji making there way over to himself and Uryuu.

"ICHIGO-KUN! URYUU-KUN! HOW ARE YOU BOTH?" Renji shouted over the booming noise, stooping low to pick both Ichigo and Uryuu up in a large, bone-crushing bear hug.

Ichigo's body was crushed to Uryuu's and both men writhed uncomfortably against each other.

"RENJI! YOUR CRUSHING ME!" Screamed both teens in unison.

"Renji! Put them down!" Growled Rukia angrily from somewhere down by Renji's left elbow.

Dropping Ichigo and Uryuu, Renji grinned down at the small, raven-haired girl.

"So how's the last year of school guys?" Rukia asked the two teens, who where currently clutching at their ribs in pain, Uryuu patting his covered scar subtly; checking for damage. He let out a small breath when the tender cut felt intact.

Uryuu straightened his posture and from the corner of his eye saw Ichigo swaying slightly. He reached over and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder, steadying him.

"What's up with him?" Rukia asked suspiciously, eyeing Ichigo.

"He's drunk. He's been drinking since we arrived here. He brought four bottles of red wine in that rucksack and two have already gone." Clipped Uryuu in annoyance.

"I'm not _that _drunk" Ichigo looked surprised at himself when the words came out slightly slurred.

"Hell yeah! Good one!" Renji barked out, before chuckling loudly.

Rukia rolled her violet orbs. "Don't encourage him! He's not even old enough to be drinking yet!"

"But yes, Rukia-san school is fine. How's University for Renji and yourself?" Uryuu asked the two friends conversationally, trying to ignore the drunken Ichigo.

"It's great, a lot of hard work but it's worth it for the end of the week when we all get too let our hair down in the clubs and bars around the area." Said Rukia happily, smiling up at Uryuu.

"Sounds fun. What sort of grades do you need to obtain a place there?"

Rukia and Uryuu carried on for a good hour or so talking about University and by then a few dozen other friends had joined their group to socialise. Uryuu rolled his eyes when he heard people egging Ichigo on to down more of his drink, promptly ignoring him for the rest of the night.

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The fireworks had long been over and the group of friends were the only ones to remain in the park. Ichigo had resulted to sitting on the grass, swigging his third bottle of red wine. His head swam and all of the figures above him where blurred and out of focus. His drunken mind trailed back to Uryuu for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night.

_'I want him. It's that simple. I want him and I want him now."_Ichigo thought, turning his giddy gaze on the object of desire.

_[A/N - Ooooooo, is Ichigo gonna do something stupid/reckless? Find out next week! XD. Review..? Pleeasee..?_


	5. Uryuu's Heartache

**Ones Tender Embrace.**

Author: Chihiro.

Warnings: Language & slight lemonJ

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, If I did the series would be part shonen-ai, you can count on that.

_[A/N - Please, don't strangle me! O_O I'm sorry about getting this chapter up so late, life got in the way, as it so frequently does -_- Anyway, there's slight lemon in this chapter. If you no likey, don't read it. Though I think anyone who dislikes yaoi should of realised by now this is a guy on guy fic. Anywhoooo.. Enjoy!]_

Uryuu scanned the large crowd before himself, his eye's unconsciously seeking out his guilty pleasure. The park was bathed beautifully in silver light, cast from a large full moon over head. Leaves of reds, browns and dark greens crunched beneath the soles of Uryuu's shoes as he wove his was gracefully through the throng of people, keeping his sapphire eyes peeled for that all too familiar shock of orange.

Just as he spotted his unconscious target, an unfamiliar girl stepped into his line of sight and smiled up at him prettily, batting her dark lashes and sweeping her long brown hair over her shoulder with a small hand. She was quite beautiful; she had large emerald coloured eyes with small, pretty features and an oval shaped face. She was slim and wore a long, tailored, red button up winter coat accessorised with a large black belt around her waist. She tottered toward him in high black boots, a small skip in her step.

"Hi, the name's Ayaka Fuyumi. What's yours?" The girl spoke confidently, angling her chin upwards and clasping her small hands behind her back.

"Uh.. Ishida. Uryuu Ishida." Uryuu muttered out quickly, stretching onto his tip toes to catch a glimpse of Ichigo over her head.

"Nice to meet you Ishida-kun!" She exclaimed boldly. She unclasped her hands and one shot in the direction of Uryuu's shoulder, grasping it and pushing him softly back to his feet.

Uryuu's gaze shot down to the girls smiling face, cocking an eyebrow at the bold action. The hand loosened its grip and started to slowly run small circles over the shoulder muscle. Uryuu bristled slightly and proceeded to remove her hand, but when he raised his own hand, her other shot out to grab it, interlacing their fingers. Uryuu froze, unsure how to deal with the situation.

"Maaah! Ishida-kun don't be so shy! Me and my friends have been watching you most of the night, I must say you're a sigght to behold Ishida! If looks could kill.. Gosh.." The girl giggled loudly and batted her long lashes again. Her smile turned into a small pout and she tilted her head to the side slightly in thought while her eyes raked over every last part of Uryuu's illuminated features.

"Oh.. Look Fuyumi-san I-" Uryuu was cut off abruptly when a small finger was placed to his lips, effectively silencing him.

"Ishida-Kun, what's wrong? Not your type?" The girl feigned a frown that did not reach her happy, sparkling eyes.

"No! It's not that Fuyumi-san I jus-" Uryuu was cut off for the second time and by the same small finger. The girl rose onto her tip toes and lent closer to him, her face hovering just inches from his own.

"Shhh Ishida-kun.." She whispered seductively, her warm breath caressing Uryuu's features. She inched closer and closer, until her lips where barely a millimetre from his own and her pretty, half lidded, emerald eyes obscured his vision. Uryuu was about to voice another protest, when two strong arms wrapped around his waist and yanked him backwards.

He fell out of the girls grasp and back into a very hard, muscular chest. A chin fell heavily onto his shoulder and his heart almost dove into his throat when he saw a shock of orange hair.

"Hi. I think what Uryuu-chan here had been trying to tell you, is that _he isn't interested._" Ichigo half shouted, slurring his words. He tilted his head to gaze at Uryuu's shocked features, his warm chocolate eyes locking onto sapphire.

The girl straightened after having stumbled forward slightly, brushing non-existent dirt off her red coat and aiming a deadly glare at the very compromising situation before her.

"Oh. I see. You're gay. _What a waste_!" She snapped angrily, her hands fisting at her sides. She looked the pair up and down one last time, before turning on her heel and stalking off toward a few girls at the far edge of the crowd.

"WHAT? No I'm-" Uryuu was silenced for the third time that night, when he felt soft lips run lightly up the side of his neck and warm breath caress his ear. He shivered involuntarily and sucked in a large gulp of air too steady himself; he suddenly felt a little light-headed. Pulling himself together, Uryuu ripped the arms from around his waist, turning to glare at the one and only Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Kurosaki.. Just how drunk are you?" Uryuu whispered in a clipped tone, only loud enough for the both of them to hear.

"Uryuuuu.. Why don't you ever call me by my first name! We've known each other long enough, you treat me like a stranger!" Ichigo slurred, uncharacteristically whimpering and taking a step closer to Uryuu, tilting his head and focusing on Uryuu's eyes.

Uryuu inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, willing himself not to get lost in those warm chocolate irises. He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly, trying desperately to rein in his self control. When he opened his eyes however, Ichigo had pulled himself even closer, his face just a few inches from Uryuu's. Swallowing slightly at the proximity, Uryuu made to answer Ichigo's question, but halted when he started swaying violently. Before Uryuu registered it properly, Ichigo stumbled forward and fell straight into the lithe figure before him, affectively knocking Uryuu to the ground and landing squarely on top of the smaller teen.

Ichigo let out a muffled groan and trembled slightly against Uryuu, dizzy from the fall. It took Uryuu a few seconds to register what the hell had just happened. His body unconsciously arched into the warmth and feel of the one above, but then froze with realisation.

"What the.. WHAT THE HELL! ..KUROSAKI TAKE YOURSELF OFF OF ME THIS INSTANT!" Uryuu screamed, attracting the attention of anyone within a 5 meter radius. He squirmed under the weight of the taller teen, his injured abdomen screaming its protest. A blush rose to dust his cheeks when he felt a hard thigh pressed against his crotch and he groaned slightly. He inwardly cursed when he felt his arousal awakening to the slight friction the thigh offered.

"Ichigo! My name is Ichigo!" Exclaimed Ichigo, his words still slurred but muffled by the grass his face was currently planted in. To Uryuu's immense surprise, Ichigo started to rise off of him, but when his gaze flickered upwards, he caught sight of Renji grasping the back of Ichigo's jacket and hauling him upwards.

"Need a hand Ishida-kun?" Spoke a deep voice. Uryuu looked to Renji's left to see Chad offering him a helping hand up. He nodded slightly and grasped the large tan hand and was pulled upright within seconds, as if he didn't weigh anything at all. Gaining his footing, Uryuu dusted off his coat and hung his head slightly in embarrassment, giving the wavering Ichigo a side-long glance. Renji was currently grasping his shoulder to hold him steady and gazing down at the orange head with mild amusement but also with a hint of worry for his friend in those cherry coloured eyes. Sighing, Uryuu turned to Chad.

"Thanks Sado-kun. I think I'll go ahead and help Kurosaki get home now.. Return the favour.. I suppose. He's consumed far too much alcohol for his own good.. He'll never make it home in the state he's in." Uryuu finished, dragging a hand through his raven coloured hair.

"You sure you can handle him?" Chad asked politely, genuine worry lacing his features.

"Yeah.. Uryuu he's kinda unsteady, you sure you don't want us to do it?" Renji added, smirking down at the drunken Ichigo, a look that said he wasn't ever about to let Ichigo forget this night.

"No It's fine. You two carry on having fun and stay with the group. I'm heading home now anyway." Uryuu finished, walking over to Ichigo and stopping in front of him. Ichigo raised his hanging head slightly and smiled. Uryuu lost all sense of reality once again and felt his breath hitch and his stomach tingle with butterflies when he saw the smile grace Ichigo's usually scowling features.

'_He's so gorgeous without the usual dooms-day frown.. Why don't you smile more often, Ichigo?' _Uryuu thought offhandedly.

He was brought back to his senses when he heard a small chuckle from above. He looked up at Renji, who was still grasping Ichigo's shoulder. He smirked deviously at Uryuu, a knowing look lighting his cherry coloured orbs and lacing his tattooed features. A pink blush rose once again to grace his cheeks and he coughed nervously, averting his gaze.

"Well I.. best be heading back now, Abari-kun." Uryuu murmured, allowing his long, satin bangs to partly cover his face. He was more than annoyed at how easy it had been for Renji identify his feelings. Renji's grin grew even wider at the obvious annoyance playing across Uryuu's face. He reached out a large hand and placed it atop of Uryuu's head, ruffling his hair slightly.

"Uryuu, you need to learn to accept any new and strange feelings that come your way. Life is a whole lot harder when you deny yourself something you deserve, purely because your scared of the change it might bring. Seriously man, chill. The worse that can happen is he'll say no, but don't worry, you're a handsome kid, you'll find someone else. I'm always available! If you ever want someone new to lust after, I'm your guy!"

Renji chuckled loudly at the dumb-struck look Uryuu gave him, gazing down with kind eyes. Winking, he pushed Ichigo softly toward Uryuu, then walked off in the direction of an older looking man with ash blonde hair, wearing a striped hat pulled over his eyes. Renji threw an arm around the man's shoulders and started to walk away, but not without shooting Uryuu one more glance, a large smirk plastering his tattooed features.

Uryuu stared after Renji wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open slightly. _'When did he get so perceptive! He read me like an open book!'_Uryuu thought, groaning inwardly at his obvious lapses in control. Turning to Ichigo, he coughed the stubborn lump rising in his throat down and forced himself to look up into the other teen's gaze. They both held one and other's gaze for a while, before Uryuu felt his weakened defences caving in and dropped the persistent eye contact Ichigo was so intent on submitting him too.

Reluctantly, Uryuu strode to Ichigo's side and placed an arm around his waist. He subconsciously shifted closer to Ichigo's lean body as he began to walk, pulling his un-steady counterpart with him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where are we going Uryuu-chan?" Ichigo slurred after a few minutes of walking in the direction of the park gates, smirking slightly and staring down at Uryuu. He dropped a muscular arm around Uryuu's small shoulders and tugged him flush to the side of his own body. Huffing in annoyance, Uryuu tried to prize the large arm off, but Ichigo tensed his arm, locking it in place. Giving up, Uryuu shot a glare up at Ichigo, scowling slightly.

"Kurosaki DON'T call me that! It's degrading and I certainly don't appreciate it!" Uryuu grumbled, his delicate features turning a dusty pink. Ichigo gazed transfixed at the smaller teen, drinking in every aspect of his features. From the slightly pouting lips, to the dark, sweeping eyelashes. After a few minutes, Ichigo's head began to spin; thanks to concentrating on one thing for too long. He staggered slightly, but felt Uryuu's arm tighten around his waist, affectively keeping him upright.

"Now hurry, the sooner I get you home the better.." Uryuu clipped, snapping his gaze back to the large park gates situated a few meters away. Ichigo felt the arm around his waist give him a small, but sharp pull and he barely managed to keep up with the now brisk strides in his current state. They both reached the gates and Uryuu pushed through, pulling Ichigo with him and exiting onto a deserted street. Ichigo gazed around himself, slightly overwhelmed with the blurred quality of his surroundings. He clenched his eyes shut against an oncoming headache and groaned slightly at a sudden urge to throw up.

"Kurosaki.. What's the problem?" He heard a voice mumble beside him and cracked an eye open reluctantly to observe the smaller teen, who currently wore a look torn between indifference and worry, his neat brows clenched together in a small frown.

"I.. I guess I feel kinda sick." Ichigo admitted. He took his arm from around Uryuu's shoulders and felt the arm slip from his waist as he stopped and braced himself against a wall, his forehead pressed against the cold surface.

He jumped slightly, when he felt a slight tickle on the small of his back. After a few seconds he realised Uryuu had placed a hand there and had started running soothing circles up and down the lower part of his spine. Ichigo relaxed almost instantly with the soft caress and let out a long sigh of contentment. It was nice being touched like this, Ichigo never had the privilege of being submitted to such a caring touch. Whether conscious or unconscious, it really didn't matter . He turned around to stare at the smaller teen, bracing his back against the wall. Without hesitation, He reached out and placed one of his hands on the side of Uryuu's warm neck and felt the small pulse jump as he ran his fingers over the sensitive flesh.

"Uryuu.. Did I ever tell you how fucking tempting you are?" Ichigo slurred loudly, his warm breath tickling the smaller teens features. Uryuu's breath hitched and even in the dim street light, Ichigo was able to make out his pupils widening in obvious shock.

"What? Kuro-"

"Shhhhhh!.." Ichigo cut him off, staggering forwards slightly and placing his other hand on the other side of Uryuu's neck. He slid one hand around the neck and up into the back of Uryuu's raven coloured hair, his long fingers caressing the scalp slowly. Drawing himself closer, he watched as sapphire eyes dilated with panic and confusion.

As quickly as it had left him, the sick feeling fell back over his senses like a tonne of bricks and he groaned again, dropping his hands to his sides and his head onto Uryuu's shoulder. He distantly heard what sounded like a large sigh of nervous relief.

"Kurosaki.. C'mon now.. We need to get you to a bed." Uryuu whispered, pushing Ichigo off of himself and moving to his side to grasp his waist once again. They walked in silence for the next ten minutes, with Uryuu towing the unsteady teen along at a slower pace than previous. Ichigo only piped up when his slow, drunken mind only just registered the unfamiliar street they were currently walking down.

"Where are we… where are we going?" Ichigo slurred, barely above a whisper. They stopped in front of a somehow familiar apartment block barely five seconds after Ichigo's question.

"I decided it was best you stopped at mine for the night.. I have a futon you can borrow and since my place was closer I thought it would be safer.. You look like you're about to lose consciousness any second." Uryuu stated matter-of-factly, but failed to disguise the hint of worry lacing his tone. Ichigo watched as Uryuu withdrew a card key from his coat pocket and slashed it through a slot on a small electronic box. Something buzzed and the front door clicked open to admit them. Uryuu continued to pull Ichigo along over the threshold and to a dingy-looking elevator. Once inside, Uryuu pressed a button that had the figure 6 engraved upon it. The doors snapped closed and the elevator lurched upwards, making Ichigo stagger slightly.

"Why are we catching the elevator?" Ichigo asked after being pulled steady once again by the small arm holding him.

"You can barely walk straight Kurosaki, let alone get up 6 flights of stairs." Uryuu murmured, smirking slightly.

"Ichigo!"

"What?" Uryuu flicked his gaze to Ichigo, perplexed by the sudden outburst.

"My name is Ichigo!" Ichigo slurred, frowning deeply.

"Tch.. Fine.. Ichigo….." Uryuu clipped, but with no real malice.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop and Uryuu instinctively gripped Ichigo tighter to stop the taller teen from falling. The doors banged open and he pulled Ichigo out of the cramped elevator and down a narrow corridor. He stopped at a door numbered 188 and pulled out a small silver key, placing it in the keyhole and pushing the door open with a creek. He pushed Ichigo softly in through the entrance and slightly up the hall. He himself turned back to close the front door.

Even in his drunken state, Ichigo noticed how much better Uryuu's apartment looked compared to the shabby quality of the lobby and corridors. _'He's obviously worked hard to get it this way'_Ichigo thought subconsciously. The apartment consisted of a joint living room and kitchenette at the end of the main entrances corridor. Uryuu disappeared into a room on the left side of that corridor into his bedroom, So Ichigo assumed the doorway on the right side of the corridor was the bath room.

He stopped his musings when he felt the remnants of his headache sneak back upon his dizzy mind. He scrubbed a hand down his face, a string of curses falling incoherently from his lips.

xxxxxxxxxxx

More than ten minutes later, Uryuu finished making up the futon at the foot of his double bed, and proceeded walking into the living room to fetch Ichigo. He found the teen slouched over on his white sofa, his elbows balanced on his knees, cradling his head on his palms and staring at the floor. He flicked his gaze up to Uryuu when he entered and smiled slightly, causing Uryuu's already aching heart to flutter wildly in his chest, like a bird trying to escape a cage and sore into freedom. He reached up and rubbed his chest slowly, willing the strange ache to subside. He shook his head slightly and then made his way slowly over to Ichigo.

"C'mon, the futons been made." Uryuu whispered, aware of Ichigo's violent headache. He grasped Ichigo's wrist, tugging it slightly. Ichigo complied and rose slowly to his feet, dropping his arm heavily around Uryuu's shoulders for support. Uryuu yet again took a hold of Ichigo's waist and pulled him in the direction of the bedroom. Once inside, Uryuu walked Ichigo to the futon and helped him lower to a sitting position atop of it. Not wasting any more time in the upright position, Ichigo let himself topple backwards onto the futon and immediately closed his eyes and threw his arms over the top of his head.

"Thank you... Uryuu-chan." He murmured quietly, humour lasing his tone. Uryuu huffed loudly, annoyed yet again at the use of the feminine honorific. Then something hit him.

"Ichigo you can't sleep on your back, It's dangerous in your state and don't you want to borrow any pyjamas to sleep in? You'll be uncomfortable in your clothes."

"You called me Ichigo" Ichigo slurred happily, hauling his stiff body upright again and smirking at the smaller teen.

"You asked me to call you Ichigo!" Uryuu huffed, slightly embarrassed; he'd called him by his first name unconsciously. He watched the taller teen struggle to remove his black polo-shirt, somehow he'd managed to get tangled in it and was struggling to pull it off over his head.

"Gods, Ichigo. Stay still a minute." Uryuu reached over and tugged the shirt over his head in one swift motion and folded it neatly from constant habit of doing so with his own clothing.

His gaze drifted back to Ichigo unconsciously and he froze in the process of placing the shirt by the side of the futon at the sight that beheld him. Ichigo's well toned chest and abdomen was displayed cruelly before the smaller teen. Uryuu couldn't seem to rip his gaze away; he hungrily devoured the sight of Ichigo's perfect body, his eye's drifting over every inch of skin on show to him. His mouth felt uncomfortably dry and his stomach was now home to a million fluttering butterflies. With every last inch of will power, he tore his gaze away from Ichigo, feeling a much too familiar heat spread across his cheeks.

"Uh.. Um.. Ichi.. Ichigo.. Aren't you going to borrow some pyjamas?" Uryuu stuttered quietly, hanging his head slightly to let his bangs obscure his face.

"Huh? Naah, I'll just sleep in my jeans." mumbled Ichigo tiredly, oblivious to Uryuu's distress. He shuffled onto his side and lowered himself slowly onto the futon once again, his breathing evening out almost instantly. Uryuu re-gained his composure and rose quickly to his feet, sparing the orange-haired teen a backward glance before heading to his closet to get a pair of pyjamas for the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After changing and brushing his teeth, Uryuu walked back into his room to catch sight of Ichigo shivering without a blanket. Huffing slightly, Uryuu ran a hand through his ink-black bangs and bent down to tug the blanket out from Ichigo's limp form, averting his gaze from the naked flesh bared enticingly before him.

Chucking the quilt over Ichigo, Uryuu pulled it up until it was tucked under the taller teen's chin. As an afterthought, he tucked the blanket around the sleeping form for extra warmth. He rose once again and stepped carefully over Ichigo's body and took his glasses off, placing them on his bed-side cabinet. He then shuffled onto his awaiting bed, pulling the covers back and snuggling into the warm sheets appreciatively. He flipped his bed-side lamp off and listened carefully in the heavy darkness for Ichigo's breathing. When he heard the deep, steady rhythm of the others breath resounding through the room, he finally placed his head heavily into the soft pillows, letting his heavy eyes slide closed.

Dreams took him immediately, bringing to the surface every intimate gesture Ichigo had made on him, but he dreamt himself returning the favour, dreamt of not being afraid of change or sharing his nagging feelings, dreamt of being accepted by Ichigo.

His dreams took on a strangely realistic turn. He felt the muscular chest and stomach from his earlier observations press lightly to his back, felt warm breath stir behind his ear and at the back of his neck and felt a toned arm slide around his lower waist, drawing him in protectively. He sank into the warmth and pure bliss of the body behind him, a small smile playing on his lips.

_[A/N - Wow, this was longer than I expected it to be! Once again, I am very sorry for the delay! I hope this chapter makes up for it, and I'll try not to make a delay such as this one again! I aim to get another chapter up by the end of next week, until then, please review and give me some feedback! Especially on the last paragraph XD Thanks for reading!_


	6. Ichigo's Decision

**Ones Tender Embrace**

**.**_Author__: Jemma-Louise_

_Warnings__: Language! A little, tiny bit of angst._

_Disclaimer__: I don't own Bleach, but when I marry Tite Kubo, I'll surely own at least half of it! =P hah! "Compromising, male-character situations coming shortly to Bleach!" (I wish -.-)_

_[A/N - Yeyyy, another chapter! Thanks to the people who reviewed/alerted/favoured this story! It's a fantastic ego-boost. There's something I would like to ask my readers; Uryuu's first name is Uryuu, Is it not? darkgaaraluver suggested that his first name is in fact Ishida, and now I'm confused lol. I thought it was his last, because of his father, Ryuuken shares the family name of Ishida. & also, in the dubbed anime and English manga, Ichigo calls him 'Uryuu', and in western culture, it's normal to call someone by their first name and not their last, so this also made me assume that Uryuu is indeed his first name. I know that in some pieces of writing and some places the first and second name are switched for formal/cultural reasons: For example Ishida Uryuu. So I'll leave it up to my readers to let me know what they think on this one; If I'm wrong then I wont change how I put the naming, but it'll be for future reference. Thanks for pointing this out darkgaaraluver. Noow, enough ranting, on with the show!]_

A long, drawn-out groan of pain disturbed the small bedroom's peaceful silence.

Ichigo kept his eye lids locked against the return of his hammering headache, nuzzling his face back into the silken hair he'd just withdrawn from.

"Urghh.. What…." He grumbled miserably, pulling back slightly and cracking one of his eyes open to observe his make-shift cushion. He stared momentarily at the head of raven coloured hair a few inches in front of him, contemplating the situation deeply, sleep still clouding his partially dizzy mind.

"What the!" Ichigo yelped and stared down, now wide-eyed at no other than a sleeping Uryuu Ishida tucked tightly under his chin. They were both locked within a tight embrace; Ichigo was lying on his side and had one arm under Uryuu's neck and the other slung around the thin waist, while Uryuu's own small arm was wrapped around his waist. Their legs where tangled together, making it impossible to move without jostling the sleeping teen.

Biting his bottom lip nervously, Ichigo tried desperately to remember how they'd gotten into such a situation. He vaguely recalled random parts of the previous night; Walking home from the park, feeling immensely ill, retreating to Uryuu's place and getting tangled in his t-shirt. But apart from that, Ichigo failed to recall why they were both currently clinging to one and other for dear life. Groaning, Ichigo let his mind wander to the most pressing issue presenting its self in light of the situation.

It was inevitable; the past few days had made it obvious he held strange feelings for the pale teen, strange feelings he now registered as fully fledged crush. He couldn't ignore or deny the painful tugging-feeling deep within his chest that screamed to be soothed.

He gazed down at the head of shiny ebony locks, his brown eyes warming when the smaller teen nuzzled the crook of his neck slightly; a sigh of contentment escaping in a warm breath of air that caressed Ichigo's naked flesh. Uryuu's arm tightened around Ichigo's waist and he muttered a single word almost incoherently.

"Ichigo.."

Ichigo's breath hitched and his pupils dilated with fear. He gazed down at the teen who had once again fallen silent. His first-hand fear slipped away when he registered that the pale teen had mumbled his name while asleep. A small, but proud smirk graced his features as a small glimmer of hope resounded within his aching heart; Maybe the feeling really was mutual. When his smirk died down, he considered his options.

'_I could go for it, the worst that could happen is he would reject me.. And I don't see why that would matter, we've never been that close until these past few days.. He's never really let me get close to him. But isn't it too soon to make a move? .. Forget that.. Is it even SANE for me to make a move on a guy? I was always pretty sure I was straight… I've only ever dated girls… but this.. it's different.. Maybe I am gay.._

_No!….It can't be natural!….It's...gotta be wrong!…but…everyone thinks about stuff like this once in a while...don't they?….maybe he feels the same?….._

_What in the hell is going on.. I don't know what's going on with Uryuu either at the moment.. He always seems so confused..…'_

Ichigo finished his internal rant, momentarily realising he'd consciously and officially confirmed that he was in matter of fact gay and had a severe crush on the teen he was currently holding in his muscular arms. He shifted anxiously, not entirely comfortable with the term "gay" and regretted finally bringing it to light; he'd hoped he could of held the confirmation off for slightly longer within his subconscious thoughts.

"Uugghhh…" Ichigo re-registered the sick feeling he'd awoken with and groaned a little too loudly. He started contemplating how he could untangle himself without awaking the other, glancing downwards.

Sapphire coloured irises met his line of site, their sleepy pupils dilating with obvious clouded confusion. He stared down into the ocean blue eyes, his thoughts freezing in place and his mouth dropping open a little in shock. Uryuu's eyes wandered down to the naked chest he was practically pulled flush too and then to the muscular arm holding his waist. Snapping his gaze finally to Ichigo's own again, his expression turned to one of utter horror and he scrambled backwards in a flurry of limbs before Ichigo could register it.

"ICHI- Ah!" Ichigo looked on stupidly as Uryuu tumbled out of the side of the bed with a yelp, secretly a little amused with the smaller teen's reaction. It was actually quite cute. A muffled thud indicated Uryuu's crash landing and a loud moan indicated further embarrassment on his part.

Ichigo crawled to Uryuu's side of the bed and peered over the edge. Ichigo's words of apology caught in his throat as he gazed at the other's sprawled out form.

Uryuu's lay on his back, his arms braced on the floor either side of him. His pyjama top had ridden up past his navel, revealing his toned abdomen and the prominent scar standing out against his pale skin. His pyjama pants had ridden dangerously low, showing his delicate hip bones. Uryuu's gaze snapped back up toward Ichigo's, a questioning look lighting his eyes at Ichigo's intense stare.

Sighing deeply, Uryuu yanked his top down and reached behind him to snatch his glasses off the bedside table. He placed them delicately on his face and once again looked at Ichigo, who was currently sat upright and offering Uryuu a helping hand up. Uryuu took it and stumbled slightly in to the standing position.

"Look, Ichigo.. A lot of things have happened to us in the past few days.. I have appreciated your company and all.. But I think we need to back away from one and other a little.. We need to regain our footing and get back onto common ground.." Uryuu gazed down at Ichigo, who frowned deeply.

"What's that supposed to mean? So you finally get close to someone, just to shove them away when they push any boundaries?" Ichigo half shouted, his anger rising at the notion. He slid off the bed and stood in front of Uryuu, crossing his arms over his broad, naked chest as he awaited an answer. He watched as Uryuu closed his eyes tightly and pinch the bridge of his nose, as if fighting his own morals.

"Look.. Just.. I.. need to be alone." Uryuu murmured brokenly, opening his eyes slowly and raking his hand through his ebony locks.

"Are you scared?" Ichigo questioned heatedly.

"Of w-what…?" Uryuu stammered, his voice trembling slightly.

"Of letting anyone in? Of letting anyone get close to your heart?"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Aint it obvious?"

"No, not particularly!"

"Stop being so dense Uryuu! Look, I don't even know why we woke the way we did this morning, and I don't understand a lot of the things that have gone on between us lately.. But there's something going on between us, whether we like it or not. I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual, unless I'm really that stupid." Ichigo finished, feeling his anger diminish at the blatant look of fear on Uryuu's face.

"I.. I… what! Mutual.. Ichigo.. What.." Uryuu stuttered, feeling immensely shocked but equally as stupid.

Ichigo gazed at Uryuu, his stare softening. He slowly made his way over to where Uryuu stood rigidly watching his advance. He grasped Uryuu shoulder softly, while his other hand curled under the smaller teens chin, forcing his sapphire orbs to meet Ichigo's warm, chocolate ones.

"Yeah.. I know it's kind of weird.. But I think we need to go at it head on.. Instead of avoiding it…" Ichigo whispered, insure with what he could possibly say to calm the unnerved teen. Uryuu closed his eyes and pushed Ichigo away from himself lightly.

"I.. look.. I need time to think. I haven't any idea what's been going on and I still think it's better if we got back onto familiar ground.."

"….For a while.." Uryuu added hastily at Ichigo's sharp glance.

Ichigo sighed heavily and ran a hand through his orange spikes, while he walked around Uryuu and proceeded to look for his top from the previous night. He shoved it over his head and turned to gaze at Uryuu, tilting his head in thought.

"Okay…. Well.. If you want things back to how they where… then I guess I have no right to force you otherwise." Ichigo gazed on, his features laced with sadness. Pivoting on the spot, Ichigo made for the bedroom door. He froze with his hand on the handle when he felt a small tug at the back of his top. He looked over his shoulder to see Uryuu at his back, a look of utter turmoil on his face.

"I.. Ichigo..… I'm sorry…" Uryuu muttered quietly, his ocean blue eyes glazed. Ichigo nodded slowly in acknowledgment.

"No…it's my fault…..look, Uryuu would you….I mean can... We can just forget this if you like.. But if you ever want to speak with me.. You know where I am." he finished, feeling the grip on his shirt drop. He gave Uryuu a small, wavering smile then walked through the door and out of the apartment, without another backward glance at Uryuu's broken expression.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sighing deeply, Uryuu Ishida flicked through the channels of his small television lazily. He settled for the news channel, shifting into a comfier position on his small couch. He was currently dressed in a long, woollen, black turtle neck jumper that settled just above his knees, a pair of grey pyjama pants and a pair of thick black socks. He removed his cup of hot chocolate off of the coffee table and cradled it in his cold hands, warming them a little.

It had been two weeks since everything that had happened with Ichigo. It was a Thursday today but Uryuu had taken the day off. He'd felt ill for the past week, now he was down and out with a flu and had no choice but to take a day off from school.

Placing his mug back on the coffee table, Uryuu scrubbed a hand down his face and clenched his eyes shut. His mind was in utter turmoil and had been for the last two weeks. He repeatedly mulled over his only options; To return to his usual secluded lifestyle, or to seek the orange-haired teen out and that wasn't as easy said than done when the pale teen was still in frequent denial about his obvious feelings for the infamous Ichigo Kurosaki.

Uryuu was snapped out of his distressing thoughts when he heard a small knock on his apartment door. He cocked a thin eyebrow in surprise; He hardly ever had visitors, since not many people knew where he lived. He stumbled to his feet, a queasy feeling settling over his lethargic self. Shuffling too the door slowly, Uryuu grasped his key from his kitchen counter top and proceeded to unlock the door. Pulling it open, Uryuu murmured a small "Oh" at the figure standing over the threshold.

"Orihime-san, what do I owe the pleasure?" Uryuu stated quietly, an edge of barely distinguishable disappointment in his tone.

"_Did I really think it was going to be Ichigo…?"_

"Uryuu-kun! I heard you where sick! So I took it on myself to nip to the chemist and buy you some medicine and cook you a get-better meal!" Orihime chirped happily, her pretty smile in its usual place and looking as radiant as ever. She looked at Uryuu expectantly, her eyes glittering.

"Ah.. Well thank you Orihime-san.. I appreciate it. Would you like to come in for a hot chocolate?"

Orihime smile intensified as she bowed her head slightly in acceptance.

"I would love to!"

Twenty minutes later, Uryuu and Orihime were seated on Uryuu's small couch, both with mugs of hot chocolate cradled between their hands. Orihime had given Uryuu a bottle of medicine and a few packets of tablets to sooth the aching flu symptoms and was noticeably more worried when Uryuu declined the food she'd brought, telling her he felt to ill too eat at the moment. He was secretly relieved with not having to sample Orihime's creative cooking. Uryuu stared down absentmindedly into his mug, only listening to the bubbly teens gossiping with half an ear and adding to the conversation when strictly necessary.

"You know Uryuu… Ichigo-kun had been acting kind of strange lately.. And I think it's since you two stopped hanging around together. He's more reckless than usual.. He's gotten into five fights these last two weeks.. His tempers really short.. And he's randomly started dating a load of girls who've liked him for ages that he's ignored up until now.. But he keeps quickly dropping each one of them for the next in line… and he's earning himself a pretty bad reputation... It's as if he's trying to forget something.. Or someone." Uryuu's gaze snapped from the mug at this and Orihime looked at him pointedly, her large eyes looked as if they where x-raying him, seeing right through him and his nervous disposition.

Her expression was sombre and it pained Uryuu to see such a look on her beautiful face. He made to comfort her when she cut across him with a large, drawn-out sigh.

"Uryuu-kun.. I might be wrong, but I get the feeling Ichigo holds some feelings for you.. I saw the way he acted in the park two weeks ago.."

"I-I… I can explain Orihime! It.. See….uh.." Uryuu stuttered, trailing off nervously. Uryuu knew all too well about her feelings for Ichigo and felt immensely guilty for the way Ichigo had acted around him that night and for that matter the way he'd reacted to the not too subtle advances. Uryuu placed his mug down on the coffee table and shifted to look at her properly. She also placed her mug down and held his stare, her eyes reading him like a book.

"There no need to explain Uryuu, I understand. Speak to him… don't let your friendship disappear. I'm happy that Ichigo has finally figuring out his feelings.. But I'm not happy with how badly he's dealing with it. If Ichigo is happy.. I'm happy.. But he's not and it makes me sad to see him so frustrated. Do you… like… Ichigo? Uryuu-kun?"

"I.. um.. Uhh.. Shit…." Uryuu murmured, feeling heat rise to grace his cheeks as he hung his head in shame, while twisting his jumper material nervously in this hands.

Orihime smiled slightly, her expression lighting up. She shifted by Uryuu and placed a hand on his back as a comforting gesture. He lifted his head to gaze at the sincerity in her eyes and offered his own small, nervous smile at the pretty girl. Uryuu sighed shakily. He could trust Orihime with his feelings more than anyone.

"The funny thing is, you're the second person to find out." Uryuu whispered, a dry chuckle escaping his throat.

"Really?"

"Yeah.. Abari-kun noticed straight away.. That night in the park. I didn't know that idiot was so perceptive." Uryuu finished gravely, grimacing slightly. Orihime giggled at this, all the while rubbing soothing circles over Uryuu's upper back as reassurance.. Letting Uryuu know she cared and was all ears.

"Orihime-chan.. What in gods name do I do.. I've denied every one of these feelings for so long, and I feel idiotic for saying this, but it's quite.. Painful." Uryuu stated at top speed, already regretting what had tumbled from his mouth.

"Go talk to him.. Go find him some time and everything will sort it's self out eventually, I promise." Orihime chirped happily.

"But.. How…. I don't know if I can.. I…"

"Talk to him. If not entirely for yourself, for me too. I want Ichigo happy.. And I feel like you're the one who can make him just that. I want him to be safe.. I want him to accept himself for who he really is.. Would you be able to do that for me.. Uryuu?" Orihime gazed into his ocean blue eyes, her light brown ones brimming with hope. Sighing in resignation, Uryuu ran a hand through his raven coloured locks.

"I'll try.. As soon as I'm ready I will try and talk to him Orihime-chan.." Uryuu mumbled, still a deeply unsure with the decision he'd just made on not just his, but Orihime's part.

Orihime smiled her radiant smile, and turned to pull him into a deep hug.

"Thank you.. All a want is too see you both happy again." Orihime murmured into Uryuu's shoulder. She pulled away and swiftly rose up from the sofa, walking to the small kitchen and placing her empty mug in sink.

"Are you in school tomorrow?" she asked, walking back to the sofa to collect her things.

"I should be.. But I'll give you a call if I'm not."

"Okay, good. Those medicines should make you feel a lot better! I've left the dinner I made for you on the counter.. You need to eat sooner or later! Okay… well I guess I'll take my leave now.. Phone me if you ever need to talk and I'll come straight over." Uryuu smiled at her offer and appreciated it.

"Thank you.. I'm very grateful Orihime. Your very kind. Have a nice night and thank you for your help."

The pretty teen smiled once again and finished buttoning up her winter coat.

"Any time. Hope your get better! And hope to see you soon!" Turning around an walking toward the door, Orihime looked over her shoulder and shouted a friendly goodbye.

"Goodbye." Uryuu said with a little less enthusiasm, a small smile still gracing his pale features at the surprisingly pleasant visit.

_[A/N - Phew… I'm glad I got that done! Since I kinda delayed again… sorry haha I suck at meeting deadlines. The story is finally getting somewhere! And will progress a lot more in the next chapter, in which I AIM to get up within a minimum of two weeks. Life is pretty hectic at the moment!]_


	7. Uryuu's Disposition

**Ones Tender Embrace.**

_Author__: Jemma-Louise_

_Warnings__: Language as usual, teeny bit of angst and Fluffiness! Gaah :D_

_Disclaimer__: Bleach isn't mine! Except for the Bleach colouring my hair, maybe XD_

_[A/N - Oh look! Another chapter! Wow haha. Not much to say in this authors note, except the fact that I gotta stop ranting so much in authors notes XD. Anyways, I hope everyone had a good Christmas & New Year! I know I did; I got a PS3! Yeeeey! Dead Space FTW! Plus I went to a huge out door celebration with my best friend in my capital city for New Years! Drunk myself stupid! Haha.]_

The narrow street was highlighted in a shimmering hue of silver, cast from the large moon shining down from the velvet night majestically. Ichigo gazed up at the persistent glow from his place on the side walk, his chocolate orbs scanning the expanse of starry, night sky.

Shaking his head and blinking his eyes at the piercing moonlight, he dropped his gaze to the street ahead and started to walk slowly from the house he'd exited barely two minutes ago. He picked up his pace to a stride and in the mean time, fished a packet of cigarettes from his hoody pocket. He removed one from the packet and proceeded to pull his lighter from his jeans with the other hand. Tossing the empty packet to the ground, he placed the cigarette to his lips and lit the end, then took a long drag.

'_Dad would kill me if he found out I was smoking.."_Ichigo thought absent mindedly and shrugged to himself, taking another drag from the cigarette.

The last two weeks had been.. Different, to say the very least. Ichigo had made a promise to himself when he'd left Uryuu's apartment that day; He'd vowed to forget every strange feeling he'd held for the other teen by any means possible.

It wasn't working.

Everything Ichigo did brought him back to square one, every time he thought he'd successfully steered himself clear of thoughts about Uryuu, something would bring his affections tumbling back into his mind. The girls didn't seem to be helping his situation either. They threw themselves at him now they knew he was looking for a partner; but every date ended the same way.

Ichigo usually got invited around their houses for a drink, or asked to the cinema. The dates would start off well, Ichigo chatting and flirting with his date endlessly and the girls reacting positively to each advance. But as the night would draw on, Ichigo would start to falter and fall from grace. When things started getting more intensely intimate, unwanted images of a certain pale teen would flash to mind. He'd stop abruptly and start to feel a heavy weight settle in his stomach, alongside a constricting, suffocating feeling pressing down on his heart. He'd apologise to whomever he had been with at the time and excuse himself.

Even though every date had ended the same way, he'd have a faint hope at heart and go on to date the next girl in line; hoping that she could capture his heart instead; To prove he wasn't gay and to change his ever persistent feelings for Uryuu Ishida. He let this thoughts wander to earlier this evening and his most recently failed date.

'_She was beautiful.. Had a great personality.. Why is it I can't fall for someone like her..?"_Ichigo thought desperately, inhaling another drag from his cigarette to sooth his stress.

He disliked smoking, but it had been a good distraction up until a few days ago. The 'distractions' he'd used to take his thoughts away from Uryuu; The girls, the fighting, the heavy drinking and smoking had all proved unsuccessful, and he was starting to dip into a state of depression.

His heart clenched painfully when he realised he'd automatically and absent-mindedly let his legs carry him down Uryuu's street. His chocolate eyes where half-lidded in sadness as he stared up to Uryuu's apartment windows. All of the lights where off, so he assumed Uryuu had already gone to bed. Smoking the last of the cigarette, Ichigo tossed the butt to the floor and brought his eyesight to settle on the glass door to the apartment block a little way ahead.

He narrowed his eyes, squinting at a shadowed figure standing motionless on the other side of the slightly ajar door. He noticed the persons body was angled toward him slightly, and surmised the dark figure was staring right at tilted his head in confusion, and opened his mouth to shout at the figure and tell the person to stop staring. The words died on the tip of his tongue when the figure pushed the door open, stepped over the threshold and into the artificial glare of a street light over head.

Clad in ripped and faded jeans and a bright red hoody, Uryuu Ishida walked slowly toward him, ringing the hem of the hoody in his hands nervously with his head of shining raven hair slightly bowed. Ichigo felt an uncomfortable pang of pain shoot through his heart at the sight; he hadn't been prepared to have to face Uryuu tonight and in this state of mind.

Uryuu got closer and Ichigo observed as he straightened his posture and almost forcefully took his hands away from the hem of the hoody, stuffing them in the jeans pockets to stop himself from fidgeting.

"You smoke? What a disgusting habit Kurosaki…." Uryuu murmured quietly with no mockery or anger to his tone, only a hint of sadness. His ocean blue orbs refused to meet Ichigo's confused glare.

"Wha.. It helps with str- you know what, why am I even bothering to explain this to you? It's not like you care what I do or don't do right!" Ichigo replied loudly, his anger rising unprovoked because of his unstable state of mind. Ichigo started to stride around the smaller teen, but a small hand catching his upper arm forced him to stop in his tracks. Uryuu sighed a long, drawn out sigh and shifted back in front of Ichigo. He gazed up at Ichigo for a moment before speaking so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"Wait... That's not what I wanted to say.. Look what I mean to say is…...uh…" Uryuu trailed off, loosing the words to his obvious nerves.

"Go on…" Ichigo encouraged briefly and impatiently.

"Well.. Two weeks ago.. You said….. if I ever want to.. talk… to come and find you… …. I recently decided t-that I do want to .. talk.." Uryuu finished awkwardly, not looking happy with the way he'd explained himself. Ichigo's expression kept up a look of utter confusion for the next minute or so, trying to remember if he'd actually said that at all. The memory struck him and his expression cleared and brightened.

"Seriously?…. You actually want to talk about the weird shit that happened between us? I never thought you would take up that offer…"

"Well I have been thinking a lot.. And.. Well.. -"

"Look, alright we'll talk, but not here.. By the way.. Why are you wearing my clothes?" Ichigo asked out pure curiosity and raising his one eyebrow.

"What? I'm n- ….. Oh.. Yeah. Um, well I was actually going out for a walk and some fresh air.. I merely put on what ever clothing a got a hold of first…"

"Yeah…. Okay." Ichigo murmured in a confused tone.

"So.. Um.. Where are we going" Uryuu asked quietly, staring up at Ichigo but still avoiding his eyes. Ichigo ran a hand through his orange spikes briefly, before a thought struck him, and he gestured with his hand without speaking a word for Uryuu to follow him back in the opposite direction.

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Uryuu followed Ichigo in silence as they rounded yet another street corner on the outskirts of the town. It was hard to believe that he'd bumped into Ichigo tonight of all nights. It had only been a few hours since Orihime had left his and he'd promised her he would talk to Ichigo. When she'd left, his flue symptoms had started to wane a little and he'd decided to go for a walk to clear his head and be able to think of way he could seek Ichigo out while he was alone, and most of all think of what he could possibly say. Now he'd bumped into Ichigo so early, he'd had none of that time and now had no idea how he was going to put everything that was on his mind into words.

Uryuu gazed at Ichigo's back, and noticed his posture was tense. He wondered at this, and the thought of asking him what was wrong came to mind, but he stopped that thought when he took in his surroundings, and Ichigo came to a halt. Uryuu gazed down onto a crystalline river; the moon and glittering silver stars where reflected on it's shining surface. The scene was beautiful, the hue from the moon was even brighter here where there was no artificial sources of light. The slight sound of running water could be heard, and the very soft rustle of long grass in slight breeze.

Ichigo started to descend the banking, and stopped half way down. He looked over his shoulder at Uryuu then turned around again, sitting down in one swift motion. Uryuu stared at Ichigo for a few seconds, before walking down to where Ichigo sat and sitting next to him.

"Why are we here.. Ichigo?" Uryuu whispered sadly, gazing at Ichigo's pained expression.

"You know?" Ichigo whispered too, turning his head to Uryuu. Uryuu nodded slowly, and raised his ocean blue eyes to meet Ichigo's chocolate ones.

"Orihime told me that this was the river .. We are at Karasu River .. Aren't we?"

"I always come here to think. To clear my mind. When ever I get too caught up in life, I come here .. And then reality hits me like a truck doing fifty miles per hour.. All of the sudden I can think straight again and get my thoughts back into order. That's how it's always been since she passed, I've always come back to this river to think." Ichigo finished slowly, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He then placed his chin on top of one of his knees and tilted his head in Uryuu's direction once again.

"So.. What was it you wanted to say..?" Ichigo pushed, but patiently this time.

"Was it really mutual, Ichigo?"

The words fell out of Uryuu's mouth before he could catch them. He hadn't meant to be so forward about things, but the words had just come straight out after hearing such an emotional and personal speech like that, he'd automatically reacted with honesty. Uryuu found his eyes locked in an intense stare with Ichigo's, and he found that he was unable to drop it. He held it there, watching an array of different emotions flicker over the others face. Ichigo's eyes slid closed for a second, as if he was contemplating something, then they opened again, a different, unidentifiable emotion shining there.

"Yeah." Ichigo answered simply, his tone displaying nothing but pure certainty.

Uryuu stared, stared for lack of anything to say to the other teen. Ichigo had said it was mutual before, but he'd been sure he'd misheard.. Or that Ichigo would of changed his mind by now.. Actually hearing a confirmation was a huge shock.

"Wasn't it obvious? Apparently I was all over you when I was drunk." Ichigo mentioned quietly, still observing the pale teen.

"Who told you that?"

"Uh.. Renji rang me up last week.."

"Ah.. Well I just thought it could have been the way you always acted when you'd had too much to drink…" Uryuu murmured, a light blush gracing his cheeks. There was a long pause where both teens just stared at one another, analysing, calculating in deep silence. Ichigo was the first to break it.

"So.. Uryuu.. What was it you really wanted to say to me?" Ichigo asked in a near whisper.

It was now or never. For months and months he'd buried his feelings for this boy, it had been a painful and confusing ride. Surely it was just worth one shot? Surely denial couldn't be more painful than what he'd already been through? Uryuu sat up straight and turned his body so he was kneeling facing the other teen. He sucked in a large gulp of fresh, cold night-air

"I.. I want to.. I-I mean.. do y-you want to.. give .. Us.. .. A t-try?"

Immediately after he'd finished his sentence, Uryuu dropped Ichigo's gaze for intently observing the long shards of grass below him. He began to feel fear curl in his stomach, and let out a long shaky breath.

After a few minutes, Uryuu started to fidget in nervousness, pulling at the grass and twisting it around his fingers. He stopped suddenly when a large hand covered one of his, the calloused palm and fingers closing over his much smaller one. He didn't have time to assess the situation, before another hand cupped his chin and pulled softly upwards.

The first sight his eyes met where that of warm, topaz coloured ones gazing at him, sparkling with happiness. The next thing he observed was how Ichigo had turned to kneel in front of him, and how the teen had also moved much closer.

"I…. I never thought I would hear you say that….. ever. The past couple of weeks have been confusing Uryuu….. I've never felt like this before and I've had no idea how to deal with it.. But.. This.. Right here and right now.. This feels right.. Yeah I want to give us a try." Ichigo finished, and Uryuu couldn't help but notice the nervous and unsure tone of voice Ichigo had spoken in.

The two fell into another deep silence. Five minutes went by with the two merely gazing nervously but warmly at the other. Uryuu swallowed a lump in his throat and broke the silence.

"So.. So… we're… a.. couple?" Uryuu pondered aloud, trying to get his head around the notion. Ichigo laughed brightly, and the sound of it sent a shiver through Uryuu's whole frame; he loved to see Ichigo happy.

"I guess.. Yeah! Haha.. that makes you my boyfriend! Shit.. that's such a weird thing to say when you're a guy.. Just sounds strange rolling off your tongue, you know?"

"Boyfriend… Yeah.. I suppose it does sound kind of strange.. But I think I could get used of it." Uryuu whispered softly, a small smile gracing his pale features. Uryuu watched as Ichigo removed his gaze from him, and stared across the glittering water.

"Looks like you've cleared my messed up head again, mum. Thank you for helping me make the right decisions." Ichigo whispered, so quietly Uryuu barely heard it at all. When Ichigo brought his gaze back to Uryuu, it had darkened slightly and his eyes where half lidded.

"I've been dying to do this for so long.." Ichigo whispered again, more to himself than Uryuu.

Before his mind could fully register the situation at hand, Ichigo had leaned in and pressed his petal soft lips to Uryuu's. He froze in place for a few seconds, but then realised what was happening and felt an explosion of butterflies erupt within his stomach while his heart slammed painfully into his ribcage.

"_I'm actually kissing Ichigo!"_Uryuu thought stupidly, then forced himself to return the sweet, soft kiss.

Ichigo tilted his head to the side as he moved his lips against Uryuu's. He nipped softly at Uryuu's full bottom lip, causing him to gasp slightly at the sensation. Ichigo took the opportunity to slip his tongue into Uryuu's awaiting mouth.

Uryuu moaned into the kiss as Ichigo's tongue massaged his own sensuously. Uryuu felt the hand under his chin slide to the back of his neck, and start to knead the flesh there, while the hand on his own moved to his hip. Uryuu started to massage the invading tongue with his own while he slid his hands up and over Ichigo's toned shoulders and around his neck.

In one swift motion, Ichigo pressed Uryuu onto his back into the soft grass, and straddled the smaller teens hips; all the while keeping their lips locked together. Uryuu yelped loudly and broke the kiss. He stared up into Ichigo's smiling face wide-eyed and blushed deeply. He remembered the last time he was in a situation similar to this with Ichigo, and swallowed around a growing lump in his throat, willing his impending arousal to die down.

"Was that really necessary Ichigo?" Uryuu mumbled, his blush deepening even more so when Ichigo pressed his full weight down onto Uryuu's lithe frame. Ichigo laughed lightly and lent down to run the tip of his nose softly along the length of Uryuu's jaw.

"Your such a prude, Uryuu." Ichigo whispered happily. Uryuu aimed an irritated glare at the larger teen, and Ichigo laughed again, this time leaning down to press a light kiss to Uryuu's forehead.

Uryuu's expression changed immediately and he offered a small smile at the loving action. He slid one of his hand from Ichigo's neck to run through his bright hair, and marvelled at how soft it was under his fingertips.

"Your hair is ….soft…." Uryuu whispered absently.

"No shit! Seriously?" Ichigo exclaimed sarcastically in mock surprise.

Uryuu made to retaliate but Ichigo silenced him quickly with a soft, lingering kiss to the lips. Uryuu felt his breath catch and moaned quietly in disappointment when Ichigo pulled away and stood up off of him. He looked up curiously to see Ichigo holding out a helping hand up. He grasped it and was pulled upright in no time. As soon as he'd gained his footing, Ichigo threw an arm around his shoulders and towed him back up the banking and to the side walk.

"Come back to mine tonight? It's closer.. And it's too cold to walk all the way back to your place tonight." Ichigo asked, the pleading tone evident in his voice. Uryuu looked up into Ichigo's chocolate orbs and tilted his head slightly in thought.

"Do I really have a choice?"

"No, not really. We're already walking in the direction of my house."

"Well there's your answer." Uryuu mumbled in mock annoyance. He realised his arms where dangling useless by his sides and raised one to wrap around Ichigo's waist. Ichigo smiled down and him and pulled him closer to his side, sharing his warmth and kneading Uryuu's shoulder with his one hand affectionately.

'_I think I could get used of this..'_Uryuu thought happily, smiling back up at Ichigo.

_[A/N - Yey! Finally.. I'm such a procrastinator! And I hate it! I wrote half of this over three weeks ago, but never got around to finishing it off! REVIEWW! Let me know whatcha think people!__J_


	8. Ichigo's promise

**Ones Tender Embrace.**

_Author__: Jemma-Louise_

_Warnings__: Profanities as usual! And.. everyone's been waiting for it.. A lil boyxboy SMUT! XD mwhahahaha._

_Disclaimer__: I don't own Bleach! I'm just loaning it's characters for a whiiile, I'll be sure to give them back after I've had my fun with them.. Hope I don't get charged interest… :O_

_[A/N - Well, here it is! Chappy 8! I do hope everyone is enjoying this story. As you all know.. The delay for this chapter was HUGE due to the breaking of my laptop and an annoying writers block and I'm really sorry for it all! This is the chapter I've been looking forward to writing XD Be warned… its profusely cute! Like I said before.. I'm one hell of a sucker for cute, I couldn't help myself! Sooo, Enjoy and remember to review! Oh yeah, thanks to a review from Krynnalexia about how the centred format of my story was hard on the eye, I've gone back and changed the story to the normal format for you and of course anyone else who found it annoying XD.]_

"So.. Welcome again to my humble abode.." Ichigo muttered sarcastically to the teenager behind him, while giving his stubborn back door a violent push to allow them access to the house. The stiff door swung open and rebounded off the wall with a loud crack, making both teenagers cringe simultaneously; It was almost midnight and Ichigo's family where bound to be fast asleep.

"Come on" Ichigo whispered, looking at Uryuu over his shoulder and offering the other teen his hand. Uryuu gave Ichigo a small smile before grasping the hand and allowing himself to be pulled through the threshold. Ichigo pulled the raven-haired boy into the kitchen and flicked the lights on, then let go of Uryuu's hand and turned back to lock the door.

Ichigo tossed the keys onto a kitchen counter, before looking up to see Uryuu observing the front cover of a hand-made cook book on his kitchen table. The smaller teen opened the book and observed the first page, seemingly deeply immersed in the recipe displayed to orange-haired teen smiled deviously, striding over to Uryuu and wrapping toned arms tightly around the boy's waist and dropping his chin lightly to the shoulder presented to him. Ichigo felt Uryuu tense slightly, obviously still unused of the close contact he was receiving, but then relaxed back into Ichigo's warm chest, sighing audibly.

"Who's recipe book is that? The meals I saw listed on the cover are incredibly complicated to prepare." Uryuu murmured, loud enough for Ichigo to hear.

"It's Yuzu's. She's done all of the cooking around here for years, so I guess she's getting pretty good at it."

"Wow.. I'll have to teach her a few of my own recipes sometime, it seems she will pick them up easily."

"You cook….?" Ichigo whispered, his tone laced with amusement.

"Yes Ichigo. I cook. I live alone, who else is going to cook my food? Why, don't you cook?"

"I do.. But only the basics. But you have your own recipes? I shouldn't be surprised though, I'm talking to a guy who loves to sew."

Ichigo let out a small yelp of pain when Uryuu elbowed him in ribs. He broke free from the embrace and turned to scowl at the orange-haired teen.

"Maybe I don't like to fit in with the common stereotype, I'll do what I want and how I want, thank you." Uryuu muttered and huffed in chuckled a little and rolled his eyes. He closed the distance between them again and pushed a hand through the front of Uryuu's hair, his spare hand coming to rest on one of the boys delicate hip bones.

"I'm joking Uryuu. Don't take everything to heart. I admire everything about you, so chill." Ichigo lent in and placed a swift kiss on Uryuu's neck, right over his beating pulse. Uryuu blushed a subtle pink and mumbled something under his breath Ichigo was unable to hear.

"What was that?" Ichigo mused, combing his fingers through Uryuu's satin tresses.

"You.. Admire….me..?" Uryuu whispered a second time, a tad louder.

"Well duh... If I didn't I wouldn't of set eyes on you in the first place."

A small smile graced Uryuu's lips, and he closed the distance between them fully, by wrapping his arms around Ichigo's waist in a tight embrace. Ichigo felt tentative lips kiss his shoulder briefly and softly.

He let a grin plaster his features before planting another swift kiss, this time to Uryuu's forehead then broke their contact. He grasped Uryuu's hand and started to tow him out of the kitchen.

"Come on, we can't spend all night in the Kitchen."

Ichigo pulled Uryuu along until they reached the stairs, then turned around to face his partner, his features alight with amusement.

"What are y- AH!" Uryuu yelped far too loudly when his lithe body was scooped up as if he where a rag doll and thrown over one of Ichigo's broad shoulders. Ichigo chuckled quietly and used one arm to grasp the small teen around the middle, to keep him in place on the shoulder he'd been slung over.

"Kuros- I mean, Ichigo! What are you doing! Put me down!"

Ichigo ignored the request and started to jog up the flight of stairs before them. He chuckled once again when he felt the smaller teen grip the back of his hoody tightly and heard mumbled curses fall from the boy's lips.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Ichigo turned left and into his bedroom. Only then did he grip Uryuu's waist with two hands and gently place him onto the floor. Topaz orbs gazed down happily at Uryuu's slight scowl, then Ichigo placed one of his hands gently on the smaller teen's face and caressed the soft skin of an alabaster cheek. Uryuu's sapphire eye's shone up at the red-head and he exhaled softly, but his stubborn scowl stayed firmly in place.

Shaking his head slightly with a smirk, Ichigo dropped his hand and strode around the teen and to his wardrobe.

"Do you need to borrow something to sleep in?" Ichigo Inquired over his shoulder, while pulling the double wooden doors in front of him open.

"Yes.. Ichigo.. Otherwise I'll be sleeping in the nude." Uryuu murmured quietly, a small blush tinting his cheeks at the thought. Ichigo extracted two pairs of pyjama pants from the wardrobe then turned to eye his smaller counterpart hungrily, a cheeky grin gracing his face for the umpteenth time that night.

"Like I would mind…" came the purred whisper, and Uryuu felt a shiver travel down his spine.

"I-Ichigo! That's inappropriate!"

"Fucking hell Uryuu! You really are the biggest prude I've ever met!" Ichigo exclaimed happily, then snickered joyously. Ichigo tossed Uryuu a pair of navy pyjama pants and then proceeded to extract his own clothes to put on the grey pair he'd acquired. Unabashed, the orange-haired teen turned around and began to un-zip his jeans.

He heard Uryuu's breath hitch and smirked to himself. He let the loose jeans fall from his hips and pool around his ankles, then in an almost seductive motion, peeled the tight, white band t-shirt off slowly. He pivoted on the spot to gaze at Uryuu, and chuckled when he found the other teen gawking at him, eyes wide.

The pyjama bottoms where left discarded on the floor by the red-head's clothes as he slowly made his way toward a frozen Uryuu. When Ichigo was stood a few inches away he slipped the tips of his calloused fingers under the hem of the bright red hoody. He felt tender flesh shiver as his fingers grazed Uryuu's abdomen lightly.

Ichigo purposely let out a puff of air against Uryuu's neck, then moved back to pull the hoody and t-shirt off together in one swift motion. He absentmindedly heard Uryuu gasp in surprise but found himself hypnotised by the sight of the toned, alabaster skin before him. He placed both hands upon the perfect porcelain and splayed his fingers, feeling the very contours of Uryuu's lean stomach muscles.

Ichigo gets snapped out of his reverie when Uryuu places his hands on the larger teens shoulders and squeezes them briefly.

"Ichigo… This is too much.. Too fast.." Uryuu's voice is but a whisper and his breathing is laboured with anticipation.

"We don't have to take things too far… let me have my fun Uryuu.. I've waited a long time for this.. I want more than anything to see you writhe in pleasure for me.. Only me." The sentence tumbled out of Ichigo's mouth and he realised how low and husky his voice had turned. He was so turned on that his erection almost felt painful, and this was obvious as it was tented proudly in the front of his boxers.

"You don't have to do anything at all Uryuu.. I'll do the work.."

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Uryuu gazed, bemused at his companion, allowing himself to be picked up gently and lowered down onto Ichigo's soft bed. He was in awe at how gentle and caring a lover Ichigo had proved himself to be, in contrast to the hard front the teen usually had in place when facing the rest of the world. There had always been compassion in Ichigo's eyes, but never happiness or delicacy and Uryuu felt privileged to see Ichigo without his typical scowling mask.

For the third time, he felt Ichigo settle atop of him, straddling his waist. This felt right, it felt right to be underneath the other teen and subject to his caress after all the time Uryuu had spent lusting after him. It felt right to look up into those soft brown eyes and feel utterly lost within their depths. It felt right to feel his mouth go dry and his body to tremble with excitement. And it felt right to finally listen to what his heart had been telling him all along.

Uryuu felt a hand comb through his hair and he smiled up at Ichigo, who was returning the gesture with a small smile of his own. Uryuu reached up and hooked his arms around Ichigo's shoulders while Ichigo lowered his head to nip lightly at the smaller teens warm neck. Uryuu shivered in reaction to the tantalizing bites.

Ichigo was obviously pleased with the affect he was having on his partner, because the next bite caused Uryuu to release a high pitched yelp, resembling that of a Chihuahua. The smaller teen pulled Ichigo away from his neck and proceeded to cup the spot where he had been bitten.

"Ichigo! What where you trying to do? Eat me?" Uryuu whispered sharply, his eye's watering all the while.

"Oh! Um.. Shit. Sorry.. Didn't mean to bite you that hard… Guess I got carried away with myself.. Heh.." Ichigo seemed embarrassed, but the raven-haired boy could just make out a grin plastered on that handsome face.

"Hey! That reminds me… who removed your stitches in the end?

"My father, why? And how does "that remind you" Ichigo? How do these situations possibly relate?"

"Ohh.. Well you were supposed to come back here.. But I suppose with everything that's happened. And I actually don't have a clue… Where were we? Oh yeah." Ichigo dipped his head back down to Uryuu's neck and kissed the spot he'd bitten a little to hard. Uryuu tangled one of his hands into orange hair and once again marvelled at it's silky feel.

Whilst distracted, Uryuu hadn't noticed his partner's kisses travel down to his pecks. Ichigo continued kissing across the flat expanse of flesh then gently sucked in one of his nipples, causing Uryuu too hiss quietly and letting his eyes fall closed. It was a strange sensation but pleasurable nonetheless. In the mist of the small shower of kisses, Uryuu felt Ichigo's hand ghost down his abdomen. It traced the scar tissue delicately, then went on to caress his lower stomach muscles.

Ichigo moved away from the nipple he'd been toying with and brought him self back into Uryuu's line of sight. He rubbed his nose against his partners affectionately.

"You ready?" Ichigo whispered, his voice deep and husky. He hooked his finger tips in the waistline of the jeans Uryuu had worn, his finger tips grazing lightly against Uryuu's warm, twitching lower stomach. Uryuu cupped Ichigo's face and pulled him in for a deep kiss, his tongue prying Ichigo's mouth open. Their tongues lathed against each other in a seductive dance, and they both moaned into the lusty kiss. Uryuu broke the kiss and stared into his partners eyes with a small smirk.

"Stop talking and get to work"

"Right away Uryuu-SAMA!" Ichigo mumbled in pseudo-annoyance. In no time, Ichigo had gotten up onto his knees and undone Uryuu's trousers. He pulled them off his partners legs and tossed them to the floor. Uryuu watched as the orange-haired teen sat back onto his haunches to admire the body underneath him. Uryuu felt himself blush, the red tint reaching his neck and chest.

"Ichigo.."

"What? I'm admiring what's finally mine!" Ichigo whispered seductively. He sunk back down too cover Uryuu's body with his and gave the other teen a chaste kiss. He then diverted his attention back to Uryuu's lower body, the hunger in his eye's more obvious now than ever. Uryuu swallowed a little, still nervous about the whole experience. He felt Ichigo's hand slip under the hem of his boxers and graze, only for half a second, over the top if his throbbing erection. Uryuu gasped and shuddered, unused of such intimacy.

"You allright?" Ichigo's voice was strained and raspy with excitement.

"I thought I told you to stop talking." Uryuu exclaimed simply, trying to hide his shock. Ichigo gazed at Uryuu, a concern crinkling the corners of his eyes, but picked up where he left off. Ichigo slid his hand further down into Uryuu's boxers. His hand grazed lightly against the silky flesh of Uryuu's erection again, this time he felt all the way down the length and to the base, where the tips of his fingers tangled into thick, course hair. The hand was extracted from Uryuu's boxers once again and then the garment tugged off in one swift motion.

Uryuu felt frozen. He was at loss as to where to place his hands.. In the sheets? In Ichigo's hair? He went with the latter, placing his hands into Ichigo's soft spikes. This whole experience was new and confusing for Uryuu, he felt vulnerable and inexperienced. Not that the whole thing didn't excite him or make him feel on the edge of pure bliss.. It just scared him. Uryuu felt Ichigo's fingers grasp his throbbing member at it's base, and he took a deep gulp of air to try and reign in his self control.

Ichigo started to pump Uryuu's member, slowly at first. He looked up at Uryuu, his eye's clouded and a small smile gracing his lips. He lent down to flick the head of Uryuu's dick with his tongue, causing his partner to moan quietly and grip Ichigo's hair tighter. Apparently pleased with the reaction he got, Ichigo quickened his pace, pumping the appendage briskly.

"Nhhnngg.. Ichi..go.." Uryuu found himself moaning as his breathing got heavier. He started to sift through Ichigo's soft hair, massaging the scalp as a reward for the pleasure he was receiving. Ichigo's tongue reached down and licked the head and underside of Uryuu's dick every so often, a resulting groan always following soon after.

The moonlight shone through Ichigo's bed-side window, highlighting the sweat drops covering Uryuu's body. They shimmered silver as they trailed down his face and stomach, leaving glittering rivulets in their wake. Never did bodily fluid look so mesmerising. Uryuu wasn't aware of the state of his body though, only concentrating on the calloused thumb smearing pre-come around the sensitive head of his cock. His whole body twitched and tensed instantaneously when he felt his partner shift and lips seal over his appendage. He tugged on the soft hair in his hands out of shock a little too roughly.

Ichigo merely grunted, his nose wrinkling in discomfort and his mouth otherwise occupied.

"I-I-I'm sorry Ichi-Ichigo." Uryuu stuttered over his words. He felt Ichigo pat his thigh in acceptance of the apology. Uryuu tensed once again when he felt his partner start to suck him. One of Ichigo's hands moved to caress his balls while he sucked up and down Uryuu's silky length. The sucking became more intense and Uryuu found himself bucking into the warm mouth engulfing him. He felt the hand leave his balls and grasp his hip, holding him in place and massaging the flesh there. The sucking got more intense and before long Uryuu was writhing and moaning a little too loudly. He felt Ichigo moan around his dick, obviously loving the sounds his partner was making.

He could feel it. In the lowest part of his stomach. A coil of pleasure growing more intense by the second, his whole body on the edge of euphoria.

'_No.. not yet.."_Uryuu thought somewhere at the back of his clouded mind.

But to his surprise and also his disappointment, Ichigo let Uryuu's wet dick pop out of his mouth suddenly, causing Uryuu too hiss at the sudden lack of warmth and pleasure. He looked up to see Ichigo on his haunches again, but this time not admiring his catch, but gawking out of the window. He was about to ask what was wrong, when he heard a stone hit the glass.

"What… who is it?" Uryuu inquired quietly.

"… Take a look for yourself.." Ichigo murmured, now looking rather pissed off. Uryuu pulled him self into the sitting position and gazed out of the window, spotting the cause of Ichigo's annoyance. A certain red-headed man stood out side, wobbling slightly and grinning stupidly at the window.

"How did you know he was there?"

"He threw a stone. It was quite loud .. You must have been pretty out of it! Could of busted my window the bastard.."

"IIICCHII! COME LET YOUR OL'PAL IN!" none other than a wrecked Renji Abari hollered from the street below. Ichigo growled in annoyance and opened the window.

"What the fuck are you doing here you dipshit? It's gone midnight!"

"Aww.. Comeon.. It's freezing out here! And.. And I can't seem to find my place.." Renji confessed, grinning like a madman and slurring his words heavily.

"Ah for fucks sake! Hang on a minute then." Ichigo closed the window then growled, turning to see a now pissed looking Uryuu. He sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry about this.. But I can't leave him wander around the streets like that. I know it's a pain in the ass but he'll have to stay.."

"…What an idiot… Fine. Suppose there's no other option.." Uryuu claimed, then mimicked Ichigo's deep sigh.

"Best put something on" Ichigo murmured. He picked up his discarded pyjama pants then threw Uryuu the ones he was supposed to borrow earlier. Ichigo slipped his on while Uryuu getting stiffly too his feet to do the same.

"Sorry about this Uryuu. But that was fun" Ichigo smirked and stepped over to his boyfriend to plant a chaste kiss on his forehead.

"It was amazing Ichigo.. Thank you."

"Don't thank me! it's my pleasure!" Ichigo's smirk stretched wider before he turned to leave the room.

"Renji can sleep on the floor" He stated before disappearing out of the door. Uryuu sighed and sat back down onto the bed. He then realised he wasn't about too let Abarai see his naked chest, so grabbed the nearest t-shirt and put it on. The sent of Ichigo invaded his senses and he found him self breathing the intoxicating sent in deeply.

'_Abarai.. Why did you insist on ruining my night with Ichigo…!'_He thought angrily, combing a hand through his hair and wishing they'd gone back too his place. No one knew where he lived except Inoue, Chad and Ichigo. Uryuu heard the front door close and Ichigo curse at Renji for slamming it. He giggled in return but yelped, Uryuu heard Ichigo start to drag him up the stairs, cursing his idiocy all the way.

The first to burst through the door was Renji. It banged the wall loudly and Ichigo responded by kicking his friend into the room. Renji tripped and fell face first onto the floor, the resulting bang even louder. Ichigo cringed then scrubbed a hand over his face awkwardly.

Tonight promised to be chaotic.

_[A/N - It's done! YEY! I've finally got off my lazy arse and finished chapter 8.. I'm sorry for the delay! I procrastinate like a bitch.. Even after the laptop is fixed and my writers block is gone.. I'm just lazy! They delay wont be as long next time! I'll be starting chapter 9 tomorrow so hopefully it will be done quickly! Thank you for sticking with me.. I would like to thank Gabryel for the kick I needed to finish this! Thank youuu!] (PS! This is kinda FULL of typos.. i'll get it sorted when it's not 4.17am . haha. I've also found i've been repeating myself alot... using words twice in one sentance blahblahblah.. i'll get it sorted ASAP! )_


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